Gujarat Titans appoint former Pakistan cricket team coaching staff member as batting coach ahead of IPL 2026

Gujarat Titans have appointed two-time Australian World Cup-winner Matthew Hayden as batting coach ahead of the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the franchise announced on Tuesday. Although the start and final dates of the IPL 2026 are out, the final fixture is yet to be officially announced by the BCCI and IPL Governing Council.

Hayden thus reunites with fellow Matthew Wade, who is working as an assistant coach at Gujarat Titans. Besides Wade, head coach Ashish Nehra, assistant coaches Parthiv Patel, Naeem Amin, Narender Negi and Aashish Kapoor and Director of Cricket Vikram Solanki will be helping Hayden.

“A World Cup winner and one of the most dominant opening batters of his era, Hayden joins the Titans setup with an illustrious international career and expertise in modern-day T20 batting dynamics and will strengthen the franchise’s support staff as it prepares for the 2026 season with renewed vigour,” Gujarat Titans said in a statement.

Sharing his excitement on joining the 2022 champions, Hayden had already set his sights. “Good batting applies pressure. Great batting owns the game. That’s the standard we want to set at Gujarat Titans,” said Hayden. Calling Hayden's appointment a pivotal phase in Gujarat Titans, Solanki reiterated that they are focused on strengthening their cricketing ecosystem.

“Matthew’s appointment comes at a pivotal phase in our journey. As a franchise committed to excellence and long-term success, we are constantly focused on strengthening our cricketing ecosystem. 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,” he said.

Under the guidance of Hayden and other coaching staff, Pakistan played the semifinals of the 2021 T20 World Cup, losing to Australia in the last four stage. Following the success in the previous edition, the PCB reappointed the Australian as a team mentor for the 2022 T20 World Cup 2022. This time, Pakistan finished runners-up, losing to England in the summit clash.

In fact, it was Hayden who introduced the unconventional "Mongoose bat" in IPL during the 2010 season. Known for its shorter blade and long handle, the Mongoose was designed for power hitting, allowing a batter to hit the ball 20 meters further. Hayden represented Australia in 273 international matches across formats, scoring over 15,000 international runs and playing a pivotal role in multiple in their World Cup wins in 2003 and 2007.