Liam Livingstone slams England setup after 2025 drop; eyes IPL revival
Liam Livingstone slams England setup after 2025 drop; eyes IPL revival
England all-rounder Liam Livingstone criticizes team management for poor communication after being dropped, as he eyes a strong IPL 2026 with Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Liam Livingstone has openly criticised England's team management over the way he was treated after being dropped from the national side in 2025, calling the experience eye-opening. The all-rounder says he hasn’t been part of the setup since March last year and now doubts whether he will return under the current leadership. He indicated the conversation when told he was left out for the West Indies series lasted barely a minute, with the message coming from head coach Brendon McCullum. "I asked why [I was dropped]. They said they wanted to try someone else," Livingstone recalled. He also highlighted the lack of outreach from Rob Key, England's managing director, saying that Keysby’s absence spoke volumes about the group.
That behind-the-scenes frustration extended beyond one phone call. Livingstone alleged that he never heard from Key after the decision, and he described the overall situation as an eye-opening experience about the group and the regime: if you're in, you're in, and if you're not in, no one cares about you. He went on to say that this realization would, for him, shift cricket back to being something he could enjoy more in the future.
Now plying his trade in the Indian Premier League with Sunrisers Hyderabad for the 2026 season, Livingstone stays focused on delivering big performances. He hopes a successful IPL stint will help reinvigorate his England chances, even as he processes the difficult memories of the 2025 drop. The optimism about his form in the IPL comes with a clear sense of a recalibrated approach—perform well on the field, and let cricket speak for itself.
