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Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) think tank has been criticised for their startegy in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction. One of the star players they roped in at the mega auction is Liam Livingstone. England's explosive batter Liam Livingstone was roped in by RCB for Rs 8.75 crore, less than what Punjab Kings (PBKS) paid him. The T20 speciallist feels that the dimensions of M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru will suit him better as he can clear the ropes with ease.
"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 will share the RCB dressing room with his English teammates Phil Salt and Jacob Bethell. He feels that RCB have done well at the auction.
"I think we had a really good auction. We've got some good players, we picked up quite cleverly," he said.
The 31-year-old is excited to be playing alongside Virat Kohli who has been associated with RCB since the inaugural edition.
"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," he said.
"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's IPL career in numbers
Livingstone made his IPL debut in 2019 for Rajasthan Royals and did not live up to the expectations. In the IPL 2022 mega auction, he was roped in by PBKS for a whopping Rs 11.50 crore. In his debut season for PBKS, he scored 437 runs from 14 innings at an average of 36.41 including four half-centuries. his strike rate was a stupendous 182.08.
In the following edition, he played nine matches and scored 279 runs at an average of 34.87 including two fifties. His strike rate in 2023 season was 163.12. In IPL 2024, he struggled to score. From seven games, he had 111 runs at a strike rate of 142.30. PBKS finished ninth on the points table.
