"Won’t be a bad option to keep Livingstone in the auction" - Ex-Indian seamer underlines RCB's strategy ahead of IPL 2026 retention deadline

Former Indian seamer Irfan Pathan has shared his opinion on the strategy that the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) must go for in the IPL 2026 auction. Pathan suggested that it may be feasible to keep Liam Livingstone in the auction, given his inferior returns in IPL 2025, and that it will be difficult for the Englishman to break into the eleven, considering RCB's overseas options.

Livingstone, acquired for ₹8.75 crore by the Royal Challengers, struggled to justify the price tag earlier this year. With the bat, the 32-year-old managed only 112 runs, including a solitary fifty, at a strike rate of 133.33. His off-spin yielded only two wickets in his nine overs.

Speaking in the latest video on his YouTube channel 'Irfan Pathan,' the 41-year-old said he doesn't expect many changes from the defending champions but feels Livingstone and Rasikh Salam could be released. He elaborated:

"RCB is a very settled unit. If you see the XI that played the final, 8 of them had won the Player of the Match awards. They were quite consistent. Those players will again be in focus. Liam Livingstone will be a talking point. RCB spent ₹8.75 crore on him but he made only 112 runs and his strike rate was 133 as more is expected of him. He bowled nine overs with the ball. He did score 25 off 15 balls in the final. But if you see RCB’s overseas players, they are quite settled. Breaking into the XI will be hard because there is Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Josh Hazlewood, and Phil Salt. All four are potent. It won’t be a bad option to keep Livingstone in the auction and see what happens." "Eyes will also be on Rasikh Salam. He was bought for ₹6 crore but didn’t perform that well. He is a good bowler and RCB needs a bowler, who can bowl those back-of-the hand slower balls. But RCB will be thinking if they can put him in the auction and buy him again at a lesser price. If these two are released, RCB have an extra purse amount of ₹15 crore," Pathan added.

RCB were crowned IPL champions for the first time in history this year. They had lost three finals previously. The Royal Challengers had beaten the Punjab Kings by six runs in the decider at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

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"I don’t think Mumbai Indians will be making many changes" - Irfan Pathan ahead of IPL 2026 auction

Irfan Pathan. (Image Credits: Getty)

In the same video, Pathan praised the Mumbai Indians' display in IPL 2025 and said he doesn't expect too many changes in the squad. However, he added that Deepak Chahar could find himself in the auction due to inconsistent performances. Pathan said:

"Mumbai Indians may retain most of their players. They played well and qualified for the playoffs. The expectation is more from them because they have plenty of match-winners, especially Indian players. Allah Ghazanfar was injured but could still be retained. Spotlight will be on Deepak Chahar because he didn’t do well at first and performed well later." "He took 11 wickets but at an economy rate of nearly 9. Fitness has always been an issue. Mumbai spent ₹9.25 crore on him and some thought can be given to it. But otherwise I don’t think Mumbai Indians will be making much changes and will try to retain almost everyone," he concluded.

The five-time champions last lifted the IPL trophy in 2020 in the UAE.

Edited by Parag Jain