Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Liam Livingstone has strongly criticised England’s team management, saying he felt a lack of respect and communication after being dropped from the national side in 2025. The England all-rounder revealed that he has not been part of the setup since March last year and now doubts whether he will return to the team under the current leadership.
Frustration with England management
Livingstone said he only received a brief call from head coach Brendon McCullum informing him that he had been left out of the squad for the West Indies series. The conversation, according to him, lasted barely a minute.“I asked why [I was dropped]. They said they wanted to try someone else. That was off Baz. Wrighty [outgoing selector Luke Wright] didn’t reach out, and Brooky [captain Harry Brook] sent me a text,” Livingstone told ESPNCricinfo.He also expressed disappointment with England’s managing director Rob Key for not communicating with him after the decision.“That probably sums that group up as a collective. Keysy [Rob Key] said nothing . [He] said I’ll speak to you in the summer. I actually rang him one day, and he said he was busy at a Test camp at Loughborough. And then I didn’t hear from him until the end of September,” he added.“That was a bit of an eye-opening experience about the group and the regime: if you’re in, you’re in, and if you’re not in, no one cares about you. That put my mind at ease that my cricket was going to be more enjoyable going forward.”
Struggles with role in the team
Livingstone also recalled asking McCullum for help during the 2025 tour of India when he was struggling with form. However, he felt the advice he received was not helpful.“I was asking for help, and pretty much all I got was that I care too much and I need to chill out a little bit, and everything will take care of itself,” Livingstone said.“When things don’t go right, of course, you’re going to care; if I didn’t care, then I probably wouldn’t want to play the sport.”Another issue for him was constantly being moved around the batting order.“One of my frustrations with playing for England was that whenever I went up the order, I did really well. And then the big boys would come back, and I was always back down at No. 7,” he added.“At the end of the day, I don’t want to be someone that’s a sixth bowler and batting at No. 7. I feel like it’s a waste of my talent, but that’s only my opinion.”
Looking ahead to the IPL
Livingstone, who will play for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League 2026, was not selected for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. However, he said he did not feel disappointed about missing the tournament.“I didn’t miss it one bit,” he said. “There wasn’t any part of me that was wishing I was playing in that team, to be honest.”The all-rounder now hopes a strong IPL season can help him revive his career and possibly earn another chance with England.“Hopefully, I can have a season like the season I had in my first year at Punjab [Kings, in 2022] where I felt like I was playing really well and won loads of games from No. 4,” he said. “[IPL] is a very different experience to anything else throughout the year; it’s a long time away from home – but if you give it everything you’ve got, it can repay you very nicely.”
