IPL 2026 Auction: Liam Livingstone land big deal; SRH sign England star for 13 crore

The English cricketer represented RCB last term.

Sunrisers Hyderabad splurged 13 crore to pick up England star all-rounder Liam Livingstone after a heated bidding war with Lucknow Super Giants at the IPL 2026 auction in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.

To everyone’s surprise, Livingstone had slipped under the radar in the initial round, but SRH and LSG leapt into action in the accelerated bidding phase to drive up the price.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru released Livingstone despite winning the IPL 2025 title after he scored 112 runs in eight innings at a strike rate of 133.33. The power-hitter managed only one half-century and took two wickets in nine overs at an economy of 8.44 during the championship season.

However, Livingstone managed to rebuild his value as a player through some strong showings in English domestic cricket after last season’s IPL.

He captained Birmingham Phoenix in the Hundred, topping their run charts with a tidy 241 runs at a strike rate of a pretty impressive 155.48 while also claiming 7 wickets at an economy of 7.36.

His T20 Blast campaign was also noteworthy, where he mustered 260 runs at a strike rate of 176.87 and got six wickets as Lancashire waltzed all the way to the semi-finals.

Liam Livingstone’s IPL stats-

As for his IPL numbers, the all-rounder has 1051 runs from 49 matches to date at a strike rate of 158.76 with a respectable seven fifties to his name and 13 wickets in the bargain at an economy of 9.01.

Livingstone brings 7496 runs from 330 T20 matches all over the world to the table at a strike rate of 144.93. He’s got two centuries and 39 fifties to his name, and his bowling record across all T20 cricket has him with a very respectable 143 wickets at an economy of 8.47.

Livingstone now brings much-needed flexibility to Sunrisers, as he can spin the ball with either his leg or off-hand – depending on what the situation demands and what yields the most success.

Hyderabad will be banking big on his experience in T20 leagues all over the world to strengthen their middle order and add some more options to their bowling line-up.

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