Matthew Hayden has been appointed as the batting coach of Gujarat Titans in 2026 IPL. He joins a support staff that includes Ashish Nehra, Vikram Solanki, and Parthiv Patel. Hayden, a former Australia opener, previously worked as a batting consultant for Pakistan. He played 32 matches for Chennai Super Kings, winning the 2010 title and finishing as the highest run-scorer in 2009.
Gujarat Titans have named former Australian star Matthew as their batting coach for 2026 IPL. Hayden was a World Cup winner and one of the top opening batters of his time. He brings a lot of international experience and knows how modern T20 batting works.
Vikram Solanki, Gujarat Titans’ Director of Cricket, said Hayden’s experience will help the team grow and mentor young players. Hayden himself said he wants the team’s batting to be strong enough to control matches.
During his career, Hayden played 273 international games and scored over 15,000 runs. He is a two-time ODI World Cup winner and an ICC Hall of Famer. Gujarat Titans are captained by Shubman Gill.
The 2026 IPL will be the league’s biggest edition, starting March 28 and ending May 31, with 84 matches. This follows India’s T20 World Cup win, where they beat New Zealand by 96 runs to defend the title and become the first team to win the T20 World Cup three times. The BCCI gave a cash reward of ₹131 crore to the team.
Has Matthew Hayden played in the IPL before?
Matthew Hayden played for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, starting in 2008 with a $375,000 contract. He quickly became one of the league’s top players and won the Orange Cap in 2009 by scoring 572 runs, making him the highest run-scorer that season.
He retired from representative cricket on 13 January 2009 after a series of low scores in tours of New Zealand and South Africa. He was widely praised by teammates like Ricky Ponting and Justin Langer as one of Australia’s greatest openers and is considered statistically the best opener the country produced.
After retirement, Hayden stayed active in cricket and community work. In 2010, he captained the Indigenous All-Stars XI in the Imparja Cup and became an ambassador for the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation. He also helped Cricket Australia promote the game among indigenous communities. In 2013, he led a Queensland tourism campaign to attract Indian tourists.
Hayden was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 2016/17. He later moved into coaching, taking his first major role as head coach of Pakistan for the 2021 T20 World Cup and then serving as their mentor for the 2022 T20 World Cup.
Who was the previous Batting Coach of Gujarat Titans?
Before Matthew Hayden, Gujarat Titans had Parthiv Patel as their batting coach for IPL 2025. He replaced Gary Kirsten, who left to coach Pakistan’s white-ball team. Parthiv, a former India wicketkeeper-batter with a 17-year international career, also served as an assistant coach.
He had experience with Mumbai Indians as a talent scout, watching domestic and age-group games. His role with Gujarat Titans was to improve batting techniques and mentor young talent. He also had to strengthen the team ahead of the 2025 mega auction. Parthiv retired from all formats in December 2020 and had also done commentary.
Parthiv started his IPL career with Chennai Super Kings, opening the batting alongside Matthew but didn’t keep wickets because MS Dhoni was the team’s wicketkeeper. After Kochi Tuskers Kerala was terminated, he was auctioned again in 2012 and joined Deccan Chargers for $1 million.
He then played for Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2013, Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2014, and Mumbai Indians in 2015 as an opening batsman. He returned to Royal Challengers Bangalore through the IPL auction in 2018.
FAQs
Q. Who is the new batting coach of Gujarat Titans for IPL 2026?
A. Matthew Hayden is the new batting coach for Gujarat Titans in 2026 IPL.
Q. Who was the previous batting coach of Gujarat Titans?
A. Parthiv Patel was the batting coach for Gujarat Titans in IPL 2025.
Q. Who are the other support staff members for Gujarat Titans in IPL 2026?
A. Other support staff include Ashish Nehra, Vikram Solanki, and Parthiv Patel.
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