Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], November 24 : Former Indian cricketer Anil Kumble suggested Liam Livingstone's subpar performance in the previous Indian Premier League (IPL) season, his omission from the England squad and high price tag are likely the reasons for the defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to release him ahead of the next year's IPL auction.
Livingstone featured for RCB during their title-winning IPL 2025 campaign after being signed for Rs 8.75 crore at the previous mega auction. However, his season was below expectationshe managed just 112 runs in eight innings at a strike rate of 133.33, with a lone half-century and picked up only two wickets in nine overs, conceding at 8.44 runs per over.
Speaking at the JioStar show 'IPL Retention', Kumble said that while Livingstone is a valuable all-rounder with explosive batting, versatile spin bowling and strong fielding, his poor IPL season with RCB and absence from the England squad likely contributed to his release. Kumble noted that Livingstone had excelled in IPL 2022 with Punjab, but his high price tag and RCB's need to strengthen their bowling depthespecially with overseas and Indian fast-bowler backupsmade the decision necessary.
"Releases are always tough calls. Liam Livingstone is someone I enjoyed working with closely, and he was extremely good for Punjab in IPL 2022, probably his best IPL season. He can change the game single-handedly in just a few overs with his powerful batting. What makes him special is his bowling flexibility; he bowls leg spin to right-handers and off spin to left-handers, plus he's a good fielder, making him a complete package," Kumble said.
"Unfortunately, he didn't have a great IPL season for RCB last year and also missed out on selection for England. Otherwise, I'm sure other franchises would be interested in him. His high price tag was likely a factor in the release. RCB also needs to find backup options, both an overseas fast bowler and an Indian fast bowler to support their main bowling attack of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood. This need for bowling depth might be another reason behind this tough call," he added further.
Former Indian wicket-keeper batter Saba Karim expressed surprise at RCB's decision to release Swastik Chikhara ahead of the IPL 2026 auction. RCB bought Chikara for his base price of INR 30 lakh at the IPL 2025 mega auction.
Chikara was not given a game in the IPL 2025. Ahead of last year's auction, Chikara was the top run-getter in the UP T20 league with 499 runs and had also done decently in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
"It's a splendid position for RCB to be finally being called as the defending champions. Talking about their auction plans, they can still buy back Liam Livingstone in the mini-auction if he doesn't go for too high a price. I'm also surprised they didn't retain Swastik Chikara, who was an excellent buy last season after his prolific performances in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. I was actually expecting him to get a game, but he didn't play a single match and now, hasn't been retained," Saba Karim said.
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