Liam Livingstone on his surprise IPL pick: ‘It was pretty much like Homes Under the Hammer’

Exclusive interview: After being plucked by the Rajasthan Royals for a fee of £55,000, Livingstone can look forward to a rather more happy Christmas than looked likely before his name appeared

Liam Livingstone while playing for Lancashire (Getty Images)

Daniel Vettori once famously celebrated his selection in the Indian Premier League auction by honking his car horn relentlessly. For Liam Livingstone it was a far quieter and understated affair.

The big-hitting Cumbrian was in the gym at Old Trafford and watching the auction on the TV. After a season of disappointment as Lancashire captain, it would have been entirely in keeping for him to have gone unsold.

Now, after being plucked by the Rajasthan Royals for a fee of £55,000, Livingstone can look forward to a rather more happy Christmas than looked likely before his name appeared on the screen and the bidding began.

“It was a bit of surprise, if I’m honest,” he tells The Independent. “You don’t know when your name will come into the auction and I had already been watching it for a couple of hours.

“My strength and conditioning coach was going mad that I wasn’t doing much. We were doing the 3km challenge – 3k on the rower, 3k on the bike and 3k on the treadmill. I was trying to put that off for as long as possible.

“It was all a bit strange really, it was pretty much like Homes Under the Hammer. Your name comes up and then the owners start bidding. It was really nice to be picked up.”

Liam Livingstone during the Vitality T20 Blast (Getty Images)

Livingstone, alongside Harry Gurney – who was snapped up by the Kolkata Knight Riders – was perhaps the surprise English pick of an IPL Auction that saw Chris Woakes, Alex Hales and Eoin Morgan go unsold.

There is, though, no doubting his potential in the shortest format, with Livingstone carving himself a reputation as one of the country’s most destructive batting talents since scoring 350 off 138 balls for Nantwich as a 21-year-old.

Now 25, he has enjoyed a mixed 2018 since being picked for England to tour New Zealand at the tail-end of a hugely disappointing Ashes campaign Down Under.

Livingstone was a largely peripheral figure on that tour and then endured a stop-start county season as a result of injury. Lancashire’s relegation from the First Division of the County Championship under his leadership then led to him leaving the role in November. It was hardly the year he had in mind but an IPL contract will have softened those blows considerably.

“I don’t want to miss any cricket for Lancashire but having the chance to go out and play with some of the best players in the world and share a changing room with them as well is the reason I went in the auction in the first place,” he says.

“I’m looking forward to getting out there. It’s cricket’s Champions League equivalent, really. I’ve spoken to a number of pepole who have gone out there and I’ve heard some amazing things.

“Jos (Buttler) has said it’s one of the best things that have happened to him in his career. I’m going to go out there and learn as much as I can and hopefully I’ll get the opportunity to perform and show what I’m capable of.

“It’s a great platform to showcase my talents. Lancashire have been very understanding and know why I want to go and play in these tournaments.

“I’ll be in the PSL (Pakistan Super League) before and will then go straight to the IPL. They’re two different environments, two new environments and being in different changing rooms with different coaches and different players can only help me develop as a cricketer.”

Livingstone will hope that both provide him with the chance to offer England a timely reminder of his capabilities too.

“I loved the experience of playing on that tour in New Zealand, it’s not something I look back on with any regrets,” he says. “When I came back, though, I couldn’t really get anything going in the Championship, which was disappointing.

“But I’m still young, I’m still learning and hopefully these opportunities will come around again. My focus in 2019 is to not look too far ahead. I want to do as much as I can to develop and evolve my game. If I have that confidence in myself, that will help me when I get back to playing for Lancashire. And whatever happens from there will happen.”

In the meantime, his strength and conditioning coach will be looking for Livingstone’s undivided attention.