Yo Mahesh adopts 'football model' to give real-time coaching at M.A. Chidambaram Stadium

Tamil Nadu head coach Yo Mahesh vocally guided his players during the Ranji Trophy fixture against Railways at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium on October 31, 2026, saying he has embraced a ‘football model’ of in-game coaching inspired by Pep Guardiola.

Amid a generally calm stadium atmosphere, Mahesh’s frequent tactical shouts and encouragements were a constant presence in the dugout as he delivered real-time instructions and motivation. The former State team pacer highlighted changing coaching practices, noting specifically the IPL example of Ashish Nehra. “I feel that coaching methodologies are changing. In the IPL, we watch Ashish Nehra (Gujarat Titans head coach) talk to his players from close to the boundary line. It is just a sense of reaffirmation to the players,” he told The Hindu.

Mahesh pointed to his youthful squad when explaining why on-field direction matters and named several players by way of illustration. “We have a lot of youngsters like Andre Siddarth, Vimal Khumar, S.R. Athish, D. Deepesh and J. Hemchudeshan, so that extra bit of motivation will certainly help them. We do discuss things during team meetings and in the dressing room, but the progress could be faster with real-time inputs. Time makes a big difference in a competitive sport... everything that is within the rules of the game should be allowed,” the 38-year-old added.

He combined vocal coaching with visible encouragement, frequently cheering his players with the words ‘nambunga, nambunga (keep believing in yourself, keep believing in yourself)’ and working to maintain intensity after wickets, regardless of any strain on his voice. The approach reflects a shift from a more hands-off dugout presence to active engagement throughout sessions.

Irrespective of the colour of the sphere, Yo Mahesh has indeed been on the ball.

“Gone are the days when coaches just sat and observed the action. When you want the coach’s energy to transfer to the players, you should do stuff like this. We are slowly seeing some changes in white-ball cricket: it will be good if it happens in red-ball cricket as well,” he said, expressing his hope that similar in-game coaching practices spread into longer formats.