IPL franchise benefits from Hayden's retirement

Matthew Hayden's international retirement makes him available for the entire second edition of the IPL. Hayden's IPL franchise, the Chennai Super Kings, said they were pleased to have the Australian opener for the full season.

Hayden was available for only four of Chennai's 14 league games in the first season due to his commitments with Australia. "It's sad that his international cricket had to end the way it did but he was a great player for Australia and I am glad that he would continue playing for us," VB Chandrasekhar, Chennai's director of cricket operations, said. "His [Achilles tendon] injury [last year] put him out of action for a while and that affected him.

"As for us, it would be great that he would be available for entire tournament. If only we had him in the end stages last year, we could have won the trophy. He leads by example and is a great motivator for the youngsters in the side."

Chennai, captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, finished second in the tournament, losing in the final to the Shane Warne-led Rajasthan Royals. Hayden, who was purchased for US$375,000 at last year's auction, scored 189 runs at an average of 63 and strike-rate of 144.27.

Chandrasekhar said the franchise did not know that Hayden was going to retire from international cricket. "His future with IPL was never in doubt as he had already made it clear before that he will play for Chennai."

S Badrinath, one of Hayden's team-mates at Chennai, spoke recently about how he had learnt from Hayden. "He is such a positive player, just the way he speaks during meetings and his preparation methods are so perfect."