Gujarat Titans have named former Australia opener Matthew Hayden as their batting coach for IPL 2026. Hayden, widely regarded as one of the most dominant opening batters of his era, will join a support staff that includes Ashish Nehra, Vikram Solanki, and Parthiv Patel. He has previously served as a batting consultant for the Pakistan men’s team.
“Good batting applies pressure. Great batting owns the game,” Hayden said after his appointment. “That’s the standard we want to set at Gujarat Titans.”
Vikram Solanki, the director of cricket at GT, added that Hayden’s experience will help shape 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,” Solanki said.
Hayden is a two-time ODI World Cup winner and an ICC Hall of Famer. He also has IPL experience, having played 32 matches for Chennai Super Kings, winning the title in 2010 and finishing as the tournament’s highest run-scorer in 2009.
IPL 2026 is scheduled to begin on March 28, though the full match schedule is yet to be announced. Gujarat Titans, captained by Shubman Gill, finished third in 2025 after a rebound from eighth place in 2024. The franchise won their inaugural season in 2022 and were runners-up in 2023.
