Yo Mahesh is a professional cricketer, born to Abdul Saleem and Meena on December 21, 1987 in Chennai, India. He is a right-hand batsman and a medium pace bowler. He did his schooling at St. Bede's Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School and later went to Vivekananda College.
In September 2005, Yo Mahesh was selected for the India U-19 for the One Day International (ODI) series against Australia and was soon included in the squad for the Afro-Asian Cup and the U19 World Cup held in Sri Lanka. Throughout this World Cup Yo Mahesh bowled brilliantly and took a four-wicket haul in the quarter-final game against the West Indies. He later scalped two more wickets in a spell, which he believes as one of his personal best in the tournament, in the semi-final game against England and helped the Indian side enter the finals. He was a member of the team that finished as runners-up in the competition. Later, Yo Mahesh took his first hat-trick in a match against England U-19 at Sofia Gardens and helped his side seal the three-match Under-19 One-Day International series. Yo Mahesh has taken a total of fifteen wickets from the ten U-19 ODIs ha has played. This speedster was a member of the India A squad for its tour of Zimbabwe and Kenya, following which, he was also included in the squad for the home series against South Africa A.
Yo Mahesh made his debut for the Tamil Nadu side in a match against Bengal at the Eden Gardens during the 2005-06 Ranji season. As of 2008, he has taken a total of 47 wickets, including 4 four-wicket hauls and one five-wicket haul from 20 matches. His personal best record reads 6 for 71 in an innings and 9 for 145 in a match, and he averages at 37. 53 with an economy rate of 3.51 in his first-class career. On April 3, 2007, Yo Mahesh made his Twenty20 debut for the Tamil Nadu side in a match against Andhra Pradesh at Visakhapatnam.
In 2008, Yo Mahesh signed with the Indian Premier League (IPL) side Delhi Daredevils and made his debut for this side in a match against Deccan Chargers on April 22, 2008 in which his team won by 9 wickets. He had an impressive first season by finishing eighth in the IPL Top 10 Bowlers’ standing with 16 wickets.
Yo Mahesh is inspired by his role model in cricket, the Australian paceman, Brett Lee.
