Legendary Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden reckons Kuldeep Yadav could hold a key in the upcoming Test series against England, slated to start from June 20 in Leeds.

Speaking in an interview on Monday (June 9), Hayden backed the left-arm wrist-spinner to take 20 wickets for India.

Kuldeep has played only one Test against England so far, conceding 44 runs in a single inning for no wickets. In Test cricket, he’s picked up 56 wickets in total with an average of 22.16, including four five-wicket hauls.

“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," Hayden said on the sidelines of the Australian Summer of Cricket 2025/26 launch.

With Ravichandran Aswin calling time on his international career during the BGT 2024-25, Kuldeep Yadav now might get to feature in India’s starting Text XI.

“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," Hayden added.

Prior to the India-England Test Series, there is another important fixture in Test Cricket to look forward to as Australia face South Africa in the ICC World Test Championship Final from June 11-15 at Lord’s.

Hayden remarked that Australia’s bowling attack is superior as compared to South Africa’s, highlighting their dominance on that front from 2023-25.

“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,” Hayden stated.

“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," he concluded.