'No Real Skill Involved': Rs 13 Crore Star Drops Bombshell, Slams IPL 2026 Pitches
England cricket team all-rounder Liam Livingstone criticised the pitches used during IPL 2026 and even claimed that the huge run-fests get 'quite boring' over time.
- Liam Livingstone criticised the pitches used during IPL 2026 and claimed that the huge run-fests get 'boring'
- He cited the example of their match against Mumbai Indians where his team chased down a 244-run target
- "We were playing Mumbai and we chased 230 or 240 in 18 overs. I thought it is actually quite boring," he said
England cricket team all-rounder Liam Livingstone criticised the pitches used during IPL 2026 and even claimed that the huge run-fests get 'quite boring' over time. The IPL 2026 saw a record number of 200-plus totals and a total of 200 or above was also chased down on 17 occasions. Livingstone, who was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 13 crore in the auction, cited the example of their match against Mumbai Indians where his team chased down a 244-run target with 8 balls to spare. He said that although the boundaries were quite big, the flat pitches provided a massive advantage to the batters.
"We were playing Mumbai and we chased 230 or 240 in 18 overs. I thought it is actually quite boring. Just watching people go 6, 6, 6. There is no real skill involved. The pitches were so flat and the Impact Player just comes in. The boundaries are big enough but the pitches are so flat. At Mumbai, the ball just absolutely flies. In Hyderabad, he played at the same pitch maybe five or six times," Livingstone said at the Stick To Cricket podcast.Â
Livingstone also spoke about Rajasthan Royals' 15-year-old sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and siad that he has not seen anything like the youngster in his 7 years as part of the IPL.
"I've never seen anything like it. And I've been there; this year was my seventh IPL. And I've played with and against some very good players, and I've never seen anything like it," Livingstone said on the Stick to Cricket Podcast.
"He's just like the way he hits a ball, he hits a ball so clean, yeah. He never really mis-hits a ball, never really mis-hits a ball the whole time. And wherever the ball, the first time we got him out with a bouncer, first ball he hit it straight up. But then the development that he made as a player from the start of that tournament to the end was like... we were bowling bouncers and he was hitting it over third man, and then you'd bowl this side, he'd hit it there; you bowl full, he hit it there; bowl a low full toss, he'd flick it over there. And you're like, 'Well, hold on a minute, where do we bowl?'" he added.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Mumbai Indians