Kuldeep Yadav may prove to be an important member of India's team during their five-match Test series against England, which begins on June 20, according to Matthew Hayden. With R Ashwin gone, Kuldeep is anticipated to be India's second primary spinner in the new era, behind Ravindra Jadeja. Before the start of the next series, Kuldeep played just one game in England and has not played many games outside of India.

Hayden expressed interest in seeing what India brings to England while speaking at the Australian Summer of Cricket 2025–26 launch. The five Test matches will be a difficult and character-testing series for the youthful team, according to the former Australian opener.

According to Hayden, Kuldeep must bowl 20 wickets for India during the series. The former Australian opener mentioned that Nathan Lyon is a consistent spinner for Australia and that every team should have a dependable spinner on their roster.

“Looking ahead, I’m really curious about what India brings to England. Five Tests — that’s a tough, character-testing series. We discussed it earlier — someone like Kuldeep Yadav could be a key 20-wicket bowler for them. We’ve had the advantage of Lyon’s consistency, and his absence in the last Ashes showed the impact of losing a reliable spinner. The best teams, through every era, have always had one thing in common — stability,” said Hayden.

Hayden stated while discussing Australia's chances in the WTC Final that they still have the core bunch, but it has started to move around a bit. But in his opinion, Australia has been a really strong squad this cycle.

“We’ve still got a core group in the side, but it’s starting to shift in some ways. How long is Steve Smith going to play or Usman Khawaja going to continue? These are the characters sitting in that space — one that Stephen (Steve Waugh) and I have been in, and Virat’s been in as well."

"We’ve all faced that challenge where you realise maybe it’s time to move on. But for this cycle, Australia has been a very dominant team. I base that largely on the fact that you need to take 20 wickets to win a Test — and this team has a world-class pace trio, much like in Stephen’s (Steve Waugh’s) era. They also have a world-class spinner, and I’m sure we all appreciate the skill of Nathan Lyon. That’s been such a key part of how Australian teams are built,” said Hayden.

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