England all-rounder Liam Livingstone expressed his excitement after he was bought by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction, stating that his new team would be a better fit for his playing style next season.
Livingstone, who made his IPL debut in 2019 with Rajasthan Royals, spent the last three seasons with Punjab Kings where the middle-order batter scored 827 runs in the world’s richest Twenty20 league.
But the 31-year-old was released ahead of the mega auction and Bengaluru, who were revamping their squad, bought him for $1.04mn after a bidding war with Chennai Super Kings.
Livingstone said he could not wait to play for RCB, especially in home games at the Chinnaswamy Stadium which has often produced high-scoring games due to shorter boundaries.
“The fan base is very passionate. It’s probably one of the biggest franchises in IPL... It’s a bit of a fresh start for me,” Livingstone told Reuters.
“I think Bangalore is going to be very good for my game. It’s a little bit smaller than some of the stadiums in India, certainly better than what Punjab was for me. Hopefully, my game should suit that place well.”
Livingstone said he vividly remembers watching RCB’s batting trio of Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers on TV.
But he added that “there’s a lot of work to be done” before he can recreate a similar impact with Kohli and English opener Phil Salt, who RCB bought for 115 million Indian rupees as they seek their first IPL trophy.
“I think we had a really good auction. We’ve got some good players, we picked up quite cleverly,” he said.
“There’s a few people in that team I know really well, so I’m pretty excited to get out there as a group. Playing with the likes of Virat is going to be really cool.”
Livingstone is currently in swashbuckling form for Bangla Tigers in the Abu Dhabi T10, where he smashed a 15-ball 50 earlier this week.
“I think T10 is great for me, for my role, because we come in with not many balls left to play. So that certainly sets me up for the rest of the year,” he said.
Livingstone has been making his mark in white-ball cricket and even captained England in the absence of injured skipper Jos Buttler in the recently concluded one-day international series against the West Indies. Although England lost the series 2-1 in the Caribbean, Livingstone displayed his batting prowess with a magnificent century in the second match - his first ODI ton. “I enjoyed captaining my country, it’s a very proud moment for anybody to do that...thankfully I’m fit at the moment and it’s great playing something that we love,” Livingstone said.
England will feature in next year’s Champions Trophy under Brendon McCullum after the Test coach agreed to take charge of the white-ball teams too.
“It’s going to be a little different environment with a few changes, let’s see what happens when that comes along but I’m looking forward to it,” Livingstone added.
“It’s going to be a different time for English cricket but I’m excited for how it’s going to unfold.”
Meanwhile dashing England opener Phil Salt has also been roped in by RCB for the next IPL season.
In a stunning IPL auction bid last Sunday, Salt was acquired by RCB for a staggering $1.37mn. The English opener will join forces with Virat Kohli at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium next season.
The right-handed batsman and wicketkeeper said: “They’re (RCB) one of a few teams who, when I was watching IPL years ago, if they were playing, I’d turn the TV on. Obviously they’ve got Andy there and Mo Bobat (as director of cricket), and I’m really looking forward to playing under them. Having been around them a little bit, I know that we’re quite similar thinkers on the game in some ways - and their track record speaks for itself.”
Liam Livingstone
