On Tuesday, March 10, the Gujarat Titans confirmed former Australian batter Matthew Hayden as the team's batting coach for the 2026 Indian Premier League. Notably, this is the first time he will be playing the role of a full-time coach. Earlier, he served the Pakistan Men's Cricket team as a batting consultant. During the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup, he helped Pakistan reach the semi-finals. Later, in 2022, he joined the team as a mentor, helping them play the final. On Tuesday, Gujarat Titans announced Hayden as their batting coach. This means he will be joining the camp under head coach Ashis Nehra. He will be working with batting talents, like Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Washington Sundar, Jos Buttler, and others. On Monday, the director of Cricket at Gujarat Titans, Vikram Solanki said in a official statement released by the team, "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." Following the appointment, Matthew Hayden said in a release, “Good batting applies pressure. Great batting owns the game. That’s the standard we want to set at Gujarat Titans. Read alos: The Hundred 2026 Auction: Rules, Salary Cap and Auction Process Explained Matthew Hayden's cricket career The former Australian batter played in the Indian Premier League from 2008 to 2010 as an opening batter for Chennai Super Kings. He has had 1107 runs in 32 matches, including 8 half centuries. In 2009, he scored 572 runs, earning him the orange cap of the season. For Australia, he played 103 Test matches with 8625 runs, averaging 50.73. He has 30 centuries and 29 half centuries to his name. He also has experience playing 160 ODIs for the Kangaroos. There he scores 6133 runs with a highest of 181 not out. He has 10 centuries and 36 half centuries, at an average of 43.80. However, he did not get to play a lot of T20Is. He played 9, with a strike rate of around 144 and an average of 51.33. His T20I career ended before he even played his first IPL match. After his retirement, he was associated with commentary for a long time and has been working with Cricket Australia's grassroots cricket. With his new role in GT, he surely will be earning some new experiences.