Gujarat Titans Strengthen Coaching Staff with Matthew Hayden
Gujarat Titans have announced a major addition to the team just ahead of the IPL 2026. Right before the season begins, the team has announced its new batting coach for the upcoming editions. And it is none other than the Australian legend, Matthew Hayden.
Gujarat Titans have announced a major addition to the team just ahead of the IPL 2026. Right before the season begins, the team has announced its new batting coach for the upcoming editions. And it is none other than the Australian legend, Matthew Hayden.
As the IPL 2026 comes closer, each and every team is eager to make themselves stronger. The same also goes for the one time IPL champions, Gujarat Titans. Ever since their consecutive final appearances, the team has not been able to reach the finals of the tournament.
And now with the aim to win their second IPL, the team has made a change to its support staff. has now joined Gujarat Titans as their new batting coach. With the Australian legend bringing his experience, the team will have the likes of Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler, and many more working with him.
Hayden’s Coaching Role
Matthew Hayden will be making his comeback to the coaching staff after a long time. The last time he worked with a team as a member in the support staff was back during the T20 World Cup 2022. He was announced as the Mentor of Pakistan in the tournament, and the team did pretty well, noting the Australian conditions.
First, Pakistan went on to finish second in the Group stages, as they won 3 games out of five. In the semi-final stages, Pakistan went against New Zealand for a spot in the ultimate clash. The team ended up defeating New Zealand by 6 wickets, making their way to another final of the T20 World Cup 2022.
Pic Source: ESPNcricinfo
But the team fell short of winning the title against England. The match between England and Pakistan was a low total game, as Pakistan scored just 137 runs in the first innings. England went on to chase this target in the 19th over, handing Pakistan a defeat in the ultimate clash. This was also the last major tournament where Matthew Hayden was present in the coaching staff.
It should be noted that Matthew Hayden also worked with Pakistan in the T20 World Cup 2021. He was the batting consultant for the team in that edition, and Pakistan was able to reach the semi-final of the tournament. In the semis, the team suffered a loss against Australia, failing to make it to the finals.
Hayden Joins GT
As the IPL 2026 edition was coming closer, Gujarat Titans were also looking for a new batting coach. Parthiv Patel was the batting coach of the team in the previous season, but he will now be serving the team as its Assistant Coach. And since they were in need of a new batting coach, .
The team made this announcement a few hours back on its social media handles. This has made the fans excited as they wait to see how Gujarat Titans will be able to do in the upcoming edition. The team had already made it to the Eliminator stage of the last edition, but with Hayden in the coaching staff, they will aim to get closer to the title.
Hayden has worked as a commentator and broadcaster over the last few years. He also announced his comeback to the game as a coach by working with Gujarat Titans. such as Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler, and a lot more.
GT’s IPL 2025
Gujarat Titans emerged as one of the most dominant teams in the IPL 2025 edition. They had secured 9 wins in 14 games, similar to Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings. But the team finished third in the rankings with 18 points, and they eventually reached the Eliminator match against Mumbai Indians.
Pic Source: ESPNcricinfo
Despite its batting brilliance, Gujarat Titans were unable to do well with the ball in this game. Mumbai Indians were batting first in this game, as the team scored 228 runs with the loss of 5 wickets. Rohit Sharma scored 81 runs off 50 balls, as Bairstow also scored 47 runs off 22.
The target was huge, and Gujarat's captain, Shubman Gill was dismissed for just 1. Sai Sudharsan and Washington Sundar had a great stand, but eventually they were dismissed for 80 and 48 respectively. Gujarat Titans managed to bring just 208 runs in the chase, falling short by 20 runs to reach Qualifier 2.
Pic Source: ESPNcricinfo
Still, this was a remarkable improvement by the team, as compared to their performance in IPL 2024. They finished in the league stages among the bottom teams in that edition. From there to the Eliminator stage in the next edition, the improvements in their gameplan were visible to the fans.
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