CHENNAI: Ace India spinner Varun Chakravarthy's presence will be a big boost for Tamil Nadu as they take on Railways in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy at Indore on Saturday. The team for the SMAT trophy has a lot of youngsters in its ranks with a couple of experienced players and chief coach Yo Mahesh has full faith in the team to deliver this season.

The fact that Tamil Nadu had a good stint at Ranji Trophy so far bagging 21 points and winning three games to be second on the table augurs well for the side. And Mahesh wants to capitalise on the momentum. "Mood is very good in the team. We had a good outing in the Ranji Trophy so far and look forward to taking it to the T20 matches as well," Mahesh told this daily.

This will be Mahesh's first assignment in white ball for Tamil Nadu. "My thoughts are that whatever team we have, I think it is a very capable unit. And very skilled players are there. We have a good bunch of experienced players and youngsters who are exciting and raring to go. So I'm looking forward to seeing them perform on the field," said Mahesh.

The Tamil Nadu team has quite a few players who featured in Ranji Trophy, so how long would it take for them to shift the mind set from red ball to white ball. "Whoever has been playing Ranji Trophy and is also part of this T20 team are all experienced guys. So they are used to this scenario, this situation. Last few years they've been doing this. It's pretty much simple, basic things have been the same. I have spoken to them about trying to get into good positions and capitalising on the same. I have told them to be judicious in shot selection and play to the merit of the ball. I also mentioned that the guy, who is among runs, must stay around as long as possible."

Speaking on high scoring games, he said, "What will be a safe total is purely based on the wicket and conditions. But, predominantly, the average score in Indore has been 200, as you said. It's important to give confidence to the batters so that they can go out there and express themselves. As I said earlier there are batters, especially in this team, who are very skilled. They have good potential, and it's important that we empower them and give them confidence to go out there and express themselves."