“Spending 13 crore becomes an interesting call” – Anil Kumble on SRH’s costliest buy at IPL 2026 auction

Former India captain Anil Kumble expressed his surprise at the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) spending big bucks on England all-rounder Liam Livingstone at the IPL 2026 auction. The cricketer-turned-commentator questioned the need to buy another batter despite having swashbuckling overseas players such as Travis Head and Heinrich Klaasen in their ranks.

Kumble, however, backed Livingstone despite his below-par IPL season with defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). The statement came days after the SunRisers spent ₹13 crore for the English all-rounder at the IPL 2026 auction.

Speaking on JioStar’s Tata IPL auction review, the 55-year-old said (via ANI):

“Spending ₹13 crore becomes an interesting call when you already have a bowling captain in Pat Cummins, who bats lower down the order, along with Travis Head and Heinrich Klaasen -- three overseas slots that are almost fixed. SRH also needed a spin option, and instead they went for another batter.” “I think Liam Livingstone, as a buy, certainly makes sense in a T20 line-up, irrespective of his performances last season with RCB. He's the kind of player who can change a game in just a few overs; that's the way he bats. On top of that, he's extremely flexible -- he can open, bat at No. 3, or play in the middle order,” he added.

The former India coach pointed out that the franchise wants to rely on their batting firepower. He continued:

"Clearly, SRH are backing themselves to take the game away from the opposition with their batting. They've done that in the past, so this seems to be very much in line with their approach."

Liam Livingstone scored 112 runs in eight innings at a strike rate of 133.33, including a half-century in IPL 2025. The part-time spinner bagged two wickets in five innings at an economy rate of 8.44. Overall, the 32-year-old has amassed 1,051 runs and scalped 13 wickets in 49 IPL games.

“Where does Liam Livingstone fit into this lineup?” – Robin Uthappa questions SRH’s IPL 2026 auction strategy

Former India batter Robin Uthappa was also surprised with some of SRH’s decisions at the IPL 2026 auction. While citing a lack of experienced bowling options, he asked whether Liam Livingstone would find a place in the playing XI. In the same interaction, the cricketer-turned-analyst said (via IANS):

“The question is where does Liam Livingstone fit into this line-up? You already have Travis Head, Heinrich Klaasen, Pat Cummins, and Eshan Malinga occupying overseas slots. Are they planning to chase every game? Or are they accepting that their bowling lacks depth, especially with some bowlers being in the latter stages of their careers? The youth factor in the bowling unit just isn’t there right now.”

He continued:

“Nothing has really changed. SRH have taken a clear stand; they want to win the championship on the back of their batting, at full tilt. If you look at this auction and the way they’ve gone about it, they’ve stayed true to that narrative." “They haven’t gone after an Indian bowler who could support Pat Cummins, Harshal Patel, or Jaydev Unadkat. We know Harshal can pick up wickets, but he can also be expensive. The same goes for Unadkat. Pat Cummins is the only bowler who can consistently hold one end. Nitish Reddy is still developing as an all-rounder, so how much responsibility will he get? SRH are batting like they want to breach 300 every game,” Uthappa added.

SRH bought eight uncapped (including seven Indians) and two capped players at the IPL 2026 auction. Apart from Livingstone, the other capped player was Shivam Mavi.

SRH’s IPL 2026 squad:

Abhishek Sharma, Aniket Verma, Brydon Carse, Eshan Malinga, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel, Heinrich Klaasen, Ishan Kishan, Jaydev Unadkat, Kamindu Mendis, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Pat Cummins, R Smaran, Travis Head, Zeeshan Ansari, Shivang Kumar, Sakib Hussain, Salil Arora, Onkar Tarmale, Amit Kumar, Liam Livingstone, Shivam Mavi, and Jack Edwards.

The SunRisers finished sixth in the IPL 2025 points table, registering six wins in 14 games, including a rain-abandoned game.

Edited by Parag Jain