Gujarat Titans appoint Matthew Hayden as batting coach

Former Australian opener Matthew Hayden has been appointed as the batting coach of the Gujarat Titans for IPL 2026. The 54-year-old will join the support staff comprising Ashish Nehra, Vikram Solanki, and Parthiv Patel.

Notably, the cricketer-turned-commentator had a brief coaching stint with the Pakistan men's national team as batting consultant in 2021. Otherwise, the former cricketer plies his trade in the broadcasting domain as a commentator and expert.

"Good batting applies pressure. Great batting owns the game. That's the standard we want to set at Gujarat Titans," said Hayden in a statement after his appointment.

Solanki, who is the director of cricket at the franchise, emphasised the importance of Hayden's experience to look after the young players and build the team's "batting identity".

"His experience at the highest level, coupled with his ability to mentor emerging talent, will be instrumental in shaping our batting identity for the seasons ahead," said Solanki.

Hayden is no stranger to IPL cricket. Before being a commentator in the league, the muscular left-hand batter represented the Chennai Super Kings in the first three seasons. In the 32 matches that he played, Hayden scored 1107 runs at an average of 36.90 and a strike rate of 137.51 including eight fifties. The opener was the highest run-scorer of the 2009 edition which was held in South Africa and was part of the team when the franchise won its first title in 2010.

Meanwhile, the Gujarat Titans would be determined to go the distance this time around after starting off the blocks with a triumph in 2022. The team almost won the 2023 title as well while their fortunes went downhill in 2024 as they finished last. This was the year when the team underwent leadership changes with Hardik Pandya switching to Mumbai Indians and Shubman Gill taking over the mantle. The 2025 season, incidentally, was a much improved one as the team finished third.

IPL 2026 is slated to commence on March 28, however, the schedule is yet to be released. The season will run for more than two months and end on May 31.