M. Venkatramana Takes Helm as Tamil Nadu’s White Ball Coach

The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) has announced a coaching change for the senior men’s team ahead of the upcoming limited-overs tournaments, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (T20) and the Vijay Hazare Trophy (one-dayers). M. Venkatramana will take over from M. Senthilnathan as the coach for these competitions.

This decision follows a disappointing start to Tamil Nadu’s Ranji Trophy campaign, where the team has managed to accumulate only four points over four matches. As a result, their prospects for advancing to the knockout stages remain slim.

Despite this shift, the TNCA has chosen to retain Senthilnathan for the final two Ranji Trophy matches when the domestic red-ball tournament resumes in January 2026, after the current fifth round wraps up.

A senior TNCA official explained the strategic change: “The demands of the two formats are vastly different, and the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) wished to experiment with a new approach. We continue to value Senthilnathan’s contributions and see him as integral to player development for the longer format.”

In the Ranji Trophy so far, Tamil Nadu has faced defeats against Jharkhand and Andhra, and has conceded the first-innings lead to the reigning champion Vidarbha. The team achieved first-innings success only against Nagaland.

Rumors have surfaced suggesting discord within the team. Middle-order batsman C. Andre Siddarth voiced his dissatisfaction with Senthilnathan’s decision to demote him in the batting order after scoring a century in the ongoing game against Uttar Pradesh in Coimbatore, underscoring the tension.

Venkatramana previously coached Tamil Nadu from 2021-22 to 2023-24. During his tenure, the State clinched the SMAT title in the 2021-22 season for a third time. That same season, the team reached the final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy but lost to Himachal Pradesh, narrowly missing out on a white-ball double.

Published on Nov 18, 2025.