3 reasons why SRH splurging for Liam Livingstone at IPL 2026 Auction is the wrong move

SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) roped in England all-rounder Liam Livingstone for a massive price of ₹13 crore at the IPL 2026 auction. The auction took place on Tuesday, December 16, in Abu Dhabi.

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Gujarat Titans (GT) showed initial interest but backed off later. However, SRH got into an intense bidding war with Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) to acquire Liam Livingstone.

Livingstone was released by the defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) after the 2025 season. With experienced all-rounders like Andre Russell and Glenn Maxwell not in the auction pool, teams were expected to go after the England all-rounder.

While he would have been a solid fit for a few teams, it may not necessarily be the case with SRH. That said, here are three reasons why the former champions splurging on Livingstone was the wrong move.

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#3 Overpaid based on his form and inconsistent performances

Leading up to the IPL 2026 auction, Liam Livingstone did not display the best of form. Playing for the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (ADKR) in the ongoing International League T20 (ILT20), he has had just two impactful knocks in six games. He has scored 187 runs at a strike rate of 158.47 and did not pick up a single wicket with the ball.

Notably, Livingtone was unsold at his base price of ₹2 crore in the first round. Had SRH bid for him initially, they could have acquired him for a way lesser price earlier. Teams did not show interest in him initially due to his inconsistent performances.

In IPL 2025, he scored just 112 runs from eight innings for RCB at an average of 16.00 and a strike rate of 133.33. In 2025, he has played five T20Is and has managed just 74 runs. With the ball, he has picked up just one wicket at an economy of 10.16.

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#2 Liam Livingstone may not fit into their combination

While SRH did make the high-profile purchase of Liam Livingstone, it remains to be seen if he can walk into their playing 11 right away. They will already have three overseas slots fixed in the 11 heading into the IPL 2026. These are opener Travis Head, middle-order batter/finisher Heinrich Klaasen, and pacer Pat Cummins, who is also their skipper.

As SRH did not manage to get quality bowlers in the auction, they might be forced to go with Eshan Malinga or Brydon Carse as their fourth overseas player. While they do have Harshal Patel and Jaydev Unadkat, they are not reliable new-ball pacers. That said, SRH would need a foreign pacer to accompany Cummins with the new ball in the powerplay.

Therefore, Livingstone may not fit into their combination. If they do make space for him in the 11, they will have to compromise with their pace attack, which could cost them heavily.

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#1 SRH failed to address serious concerns while splurging on Livingstone

SRH already had a power-packed batting line-up with the likes of Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan, and Heinrich Klaasen in their roster. With all of these hard-hitters in the top six, they did not have a desperate need to bring in another power-hitter in the form of Liam Livingstone.

Moreover, their bowling was an area of major concern last season. They traded out Mohammad Shami ahead of the auction and released Simarjeet Singh, Rahul Chahar, and Adam Zampa.

As mentioned earlier, they did not find an experienced or reliable Indian pacer to replace Shami at the top. With Harsh Dubey and Zeeshan Ansari among other domestic players, their spin attack looks weak as well. SRH could have looked to get in Ravi Bishnoi or buy back Rahul Chahar. They could have also looked at better overseas pace and spin options to strengthen their bowling attack.

Edited by Rishab Vm