'The perception of Tamil Nadu needs to be changed': Yo Mahesh

The start of the Indian domestic season often brings with it an inevitable question for Tamil Nadu cricket - 'is this the year?'. It is expected to be none too different again as Tamil Nadu pursue their first Ranji Trophy title since 1987-88 - and their third overall. Despite supplying a significant talent pool to the IPL and qualifying for the semifinal stage of the 2023-24 Ranji Trophy, Tamil Nadu have often fallen short of expectations in red-ball cricket, belying the state's reputation as a cricketing powerhouse.

Recent results at the age-group levels have been more encouraging, however. The U19 team won the Cooch Behar Trophy in 2024-25, before qualifying for the semifinals the following season, while the U23 team secured the Col. CK Nayudu Trophy and successfully defended the Men's U23 State A Trophy in 2025-26.

Watching those developments closely was Vijaykumar Yo Mahesh, the former fast bowling all-rounder who coached the U19 setup in the 2025-26 season. He was subsequently elevated to the senior head coach's position, following a mid-season split-coaching formula that backfired in a forgettable season for the senior team across formats.

Ahead of the start of the 2026-27 Ranji Trophy, Cricbuzz caught up with Yo Mahesh for a freewheeling conversation. He outlines his vision for Tamil Nadu cricket and details the pillars of a successful Ranji Trophy team, the gaps that need addressing, making the dressing room a safe space and developing a fast-bowling pipeline in the state.

Excerpts:

From coaching the U19 team last season to the senior team, what was the biggest motivating factor for you to take up this role?

As a former Tamil Nadu cricketer, my passion has always been taking up coaching because towards the end of my career, I had helped a lot of youngsters even before getting into the Tamil Nadu U19 coaching role. I had worked with TNPL teams for a couple of years. So, it was a natural calling for me and obviously representing Tamil Nadu over the years, I wanted to give back to the state. Coaching was one of the ways through which I always aspired to be part of the system. I did the U19 job last year and had a decent run with that team. And the natural progression was always to coach the senior side. So, last year was me just getting into the system and trying to understand everything. And then when the opportunity presented itself, I was ready to take it up.

How much did the U19 role help you understand where TN cricket stands at this point? And what do you think your biggest challenge will be now with the senior setup?

At the U19 level, I think Tamil Nadu has always been one of those strong teams. And especially in the last three years, if you actually see, we have constantly gone on to either win the championship or reach the semifinals or the final. So, there is a very good momentum in that stage of Tamil Nadu, which is very promising. And the other good thing is, from the U19 level, a lot of good players have started transitioning themselves into the U23 and then the senior side. So currently we are at the cusp of a boom of really good talents out there.

The challenge lies in transitioning to the senior men's setup. That's a big, big difference there in terms of the quality of cricket and the competition. It's far superior - they are going to be facing a lot more professionals.

That's where I feel probably the challenge lies - transitioning these guys who have got a good amount of momentum. They are coming with a lot of confidence and it is important for them to transfer themselves and excel at the highest level.

Every domestic season raises the question over Tamil Nadu's Ranji Trophy drought that has now extended nearly 40 years. Do you view that as an added pressure?

Honestly, I don't think there is any sort of connection for these boys. They are from a totally different generation. I don't want them to carry the baggage of these 38 years. Whoever is here, I am sure every one of them is trying to give their best and trying to win championships. Yes, it's been very long since the last time we won. We have come very close a few times but we were not able to cross the finish line. But as a head coach, I don't want to put that extra bit of pressure. What's important is for them to try to excel. I don't want to even cap them by saying, "okay, let's win the Ranji Trophy." I want them to take the path of excellence and if they get into a growth mindset, I am sure it's just a matter of time that we cross that finish line as well.

When you started off as a youngster back in the 2000s, was the Ranji Trophy drought ever a topic of discussion in the dressing room?

Each one of us was aware that it's been so many years that we have not won the Ranji Trophy. But it was not a topic of concern. It was not like, "We have a good team, we will have to do this. It was never like that." Because eventually, as a player, we were taught to stick to the process, trying to bring your best game. Definitely, there has been the general feeling that we should go to the final and win. Ultimately, that is the goal for everyone and even for this batch, it is going to be the goal. But pressure is something that I don't want them to take in. I just want them to be playing their best cricket in the best possible way - exactly like how we played 20 years back.

As the incoming head coach, what would you define as the four pillars for a successful Ranji Trophy team?

The only thing that I have been telling to the players is, one, the team comes first. Anyone and everyone who is assembled for the Tamil Nadu team should be eyeing to make sure that the team benefits from their performance.

Obviously, attitude takes the second place, because eventually even a not-so-skilled player can deliver in a crunch situation if he's got the right attitude and the mindset. Thirdly, you've got to be aspirational. You should definitely be looking to play the next level, because if you have that mindset, you develop a hunger to perform and that should definitely be there. And fourth, discipline. Especially in the longer format, because it's played over a period of time, the mind is going to be challenged and that's where discipline comes in. And I feel these four are going to be the key factors when it comes to a team excelling.

When it comes to Tamil Nadu's red-ball setup, there was a lot of chopping and changing with a cap being handed out almost every game last year. Having seen that from the outside, is the stability and security among the players an area that needs addressing?

100 per cent. I think the players need to be in an environment where they are feeling secure. They shouldn't be thinking, "am I going to play the next game or not"? That's not the kind of atmosphere you want to have in the team dressing room. In fact, their mentality and their outlook should be, "how can I perform for the team?" Yes, in the previous few seasons, that has been a concern. In the last two years, there have been multiple opening combinations. There has never been a settled unit that has played for a longer period of time.

The Tamil Nadu team is also going through a transitional phase - we had the likes of Vijay Shankar and Baba Aparajith who left Tamil Nadu in the same year. So that was a big gap there. Or Narayan Jagadeesan coming in and out because of him being occupied with the India A team, or players getting injured.

So it is important that the players who come in this year should feel secure. That is something that will be addressed this year.

The poster boys of Tamil Nadu cricket have generally been either batters or spinners. But the Ranji Trophy is essentially a winter sport in India. Is there a pipeline that needs to be established for a fast-bowling culture?

If you actually look at it, historically we have gone on to the semis or finals from the 2000s, whenever the fast bowling line-up has gone on to take 60 wickets or more. So the real gateway to success is through fast bowlers. The batters or spinners can be poster boys and get all the attention but eventually, not just Tamil Nadu, but any team that has three, four solid fast bowlers taking 60 plus wickets, they will qualify for the knockouts.

There has been a big gap there for Tamil Nadu. If you take the performance of the fast bowlers, especially last season, it was not up to the mark. And with Sandeep Warrier not playing for Tamil Nadu this year, there is going to be a gap in terms of experience. So it is going to be a challenge in that aspect. But I see a lot of promise here.

Now this is where I get even more excited when it comes to that challenge. We are at the cusp of some really good talents coming out - we have some really good fast bowlers who have shown a lot of promise, a lot of fire in their bowling and in their attitude at the U19 and U23 levels. So it is going to be some sort of a building process. But the talent pool is very promising. It is going to take time. There is no magic switch to it where you just switch on and you perform. But if these bowlers are groomed and looked after properly, I am sure they will get better and results will follow.

But can you point your finger at any particular reason behind this gap and what can be done to address it?

See it is important to understand that first of all, the wickets that we bowl on in Tamil Nadu warrants a different sort of role. The fast bowlers here, when they turn up for the league matches, are only seen as bowlers who bowl with the new ball and then their presence on the field declines. More often than not, we play on turning surfaces, so the bowlers actually end up bowling a lot less than one would bowl in Ranji Trophy. As you said earlier, Ranji Trophy is played in the winter and when you go up north, it is the fast bowlers who are going to control the game and also be deceptive - that is the kind of responsibility they need to take up. So the way they come up playing these league matches and when they turn up for Ranji Trophy, it is a completely different scenario that they are put in and a different responsibility to take up which they are not used to.

That is where I feel these fast bowlers have to be educated. If you actually see, we have developmental bowling units. We've picked up almost 15 bowlers who are going to be parallelly practising with the Ranji Trophy team and the U23 team. The reason behind this is, we do have a good promising young set of fast bowlers, but who are the ones going to be second in line is the question. We need to get ahead of the curve and try to inculcate these fast bowlers who are going to be bowling to the Ranji Trophy batters, so that when they are in the setup, they understand that, "okay this is what I need to do when I turn up for Ranji Trophy." And when they go, practice and perform for their respective club games and when they come back probably one or two years later, they know exactly what needs to be done to excel here. So we need to be a bit proactive in that.

So the process is already being put into place...

Yes, basically we are addressing the present as well as we are taking care of the future. It's important to have that pool of fast bowlers coming in so that in the next five years, we have enough talent. If one goes out or if one is injured, the other one takes his place and is ready to go.

The most important thing is when a fast bowler comes up to the Ranji Trophy level, he should be execution-ready. He shouldn't be coming there to experience what it is and then take two years to actually get his best or to perform. That's what is happening with other teams - if you take teams like Karnataka or Mumbai, whoever comes in, it seems as if they are already ready to take on the responsibility and do the job that is needed for the team. So we need to understand that and we need to get that pipeline of fast bowlers coming in.

There's also the factor of injuries with fast bowlers. Where do you stand with regard to fast-tracking players like Deepesh Devendran, who has made heads turn with his speeds, and what needs to be done to ensure they are fit to last an entire domestic season?

Not only Deepesh, but there are so many other good talents. You have Pranav Raghavendra, you have [RS] Ambrish who has been doing well and has been monitored at the BCCI's Centre of Excellence. When I talk of a fast bowler who bowls 135 or 140 kph, speed comes with its own challenges and it is important that the load is managed properly and making sure that they are feeling fresh. At the same time, considering these boys have not played much red ball cricket - we actually saw Deepesh and [RS] Ambrish were quite occupied with the India U19 team last year for the World Cup preparations and they hardly turned up for the red ball games. So they are also relatively new to red ball cricket and it is important for them to also turn up and bowl a lot more. There has to be the right balance where their bowling quantity is a box that is ticked and as a support staff, we should be able to understand where and when we need to stop. It is a thin line.

This is where the coach-player relationship matters. If I have the trust of the bowler and understand where he is and when I can push him or when I need to stop - and when he really trusts me, he is going to be open about it. Unlocking these barriers is the key factor here. You need to be really good with man-management and you first need to have a good rapport with the bowlers. I am sure everyone wants to do well but especially the young fast bowlers, they have this mental block when it comes to injuries. The perception that they have been growing up all these years while bowling is that if you bowl a lot, you might get injured. Now if you flip it, only if you bowl a lot, you will also get better as a bowler.

So it's important for us in the support staff to really have that open channel with these fast bowlers, making them understand, "listen, I understand that you don't want to get injured and so do we. But it's important that you also do this and we will definitely have that balance where you can recover well and then turn up for the next session fresher." So that is where I feel the current scenario lies. Yes, there is real excitement with regards to all these young fast bowlers coming in. Even at the developmental wing, we have some really exceptional talent that have come through and they have really surprised us actually. So it's important that we nurture them and take care of them.

There have also been a couple of instances of friction - a captain-coach or a player-coach disagreement that has gone public. For instance, when the then coach Sulakshan Kulkarni called out Sai Kishore's decision to bat first in the 2023-24 semifinal or Andre Siddarth's open displeasure at batting down the order last year. How critical is it going to be to gain the trust of the players and ensure that they are aligned in the same direction?

I think it's very important. I don't want to point out anyone in particular. But it's important that team values are followed and that is a non-negotiable in my book. Whatever happens in the team dressing room should stay there. Because when you come to the first-class level, you're looked up to as a professional. So it's important that everyone adheres to the team protocols, and the team mandates. Yes, I understand it [cases of friction] has happened. There might be many reasons why it happened. But there is no justification for that.

Sai Kishore, he took a very instinctive call. If a captain takes an instinctive call, that is absolutely okay. That is still within the team. But the other stuff is absolutely non-negotiable. What happens in the dressing room should be staying in the dressing room, so that you are not letting yourself or the other 14 players who are also in the same dressing room trying to give their best, down.

When a coach comes into the system and when he is addressing the players, there are going to be team values and mandates and this will definitely be part of it.

Is there a gap that needs to be filled for the current setup to be a genuine title contender come the Ranji Trophy?

Considering the situation right now, the team is going through a possible transitional phase with a young fast bowling unit. We have always had good spinners come through, but it will take some time. I am not saying at all that it is not possible this season, but it is important to have a good foundation built. We are just not looking at only winning this year - we are also looking to possibly win it next year and the year after that. We need to get consistent with that. The easiest thing is to just put your hand out and say, "yes, we are going to win this year." But what about next year? Are you having a certain pathway? Do we have a plan? So it is important to keep the future in mind.

But we need to have a solid foundation. When a house is built, the first thing they do is to try to dig up a good solid foundation and make sure that the foundation is really strong. And then if your plan was to just build a one-storey house, if the foundation is strong, you can go two, three or four storeys too. But the main thing is to have a good solid foundation - a good team culture. The players need to start feeling a lot more secure. Once that is in place, it is just about following the culture and the process. The important thing is to taste it for the first time, and then it is about wanting it even more the second time, and even more the third time.

What is your vision as Tamil Nadu head coach ahead of this season?

The perception of Tamil Nadu is something that needs to be changed. With whatever has happened in the recent few years, I think the perception has turned in a different manner. The way I look at the picture at the end of the season is 'Tamil Nadu is back.' Obviously winning the trophy is important, but the legacy that we have had over the years and across the country, Tamil Nadu has always been one of the more respected sides. It has always been a team which has been a supply channel for the Indian team and we have had some legendary players who have been part of this dressing room. Because of that, we have been respected a hell of a lot.

That legacy has always been there - now, we need to bring that back and change the current perception. We need to start playing a little harder cricket. I feel we have been a bit on the softer side. Cricket has evolved and competition has gone way through the roof. It's really sky high. Eventually, you should be perceived as, 'Tamil Nadu is on the field, they are not going down without a fight.' That's the kind of perception I want to get in.

Obviously, results can go either way. But even if I am losing, I want to go down with the fight. That is something that I want to build with this team. I see a lot of potential, but if we can have this attitude, I am sure the results will fall into place.