NEW DELHI: Liam Livingstone has slammed the England team management, saying he felt a lack of respect and communication after being dropped from the national team in 2025.
The English all-rounder revealed that he has not been part of the organization 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 (they dropped me). They said they wanted to try someone else. That was thanks to Baz. Wrighty (outgoing selector Luke Wright) didn’t reach out and Brooky (captain Harry Brook) texted me,” Livingstone told ESPNCricinfo.
He also expressed his disappointment with England CEO Rob Key for not contacting him after the decision.
“That probably sums up that group as a collective. Keysy (Rob Key) didn’t say anything. (He) said I’ll talk to you in the summer. In fact, I called him one day and he said he was busy at a testing ground in Loughborough. And then I didn’t hear from him until the end of September,” he added.
“That was 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 reassured me that my cricket was going to be more fun in the future.”
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You struggle with your role on the team.
Livingstone also recalled asking McCullum for help during the 2025 tour of India when he was struggling with his form. However, he felt that 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 relax a little bit and everything will take care of itself,” Livingstone said.
“When things aren’t going well, of course you’re going to care; if I didn’t care, then I probably wouldn’t want to play this sport.”
Another problem for him was that they constantly changed the batting order.
“One of my frustrations playing for England was that every time I went up the order, I did very well. And then the big boys would come back, and I would always be back at number 7,” he added.
“At the end of the day, I don’t want to be someone who’s the sixth pitcher and bats No. 7. I feel like it’s a waste of my talent, but that’s just 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 was not disappointed about missing the tournament.
“I didn’t miss it one bit,” he said. “To be honest, there was no part of me that wanted to play on that team.”
The all-rounder now hopes that a good IPL season can help him revive his career and possibly get another chance with England.
“Hopefully, I can have a season like I had in my first year in Punjab (Kings, in 2022), where I felt like I was playing very well and won a lot of games from the No. 4 position,” he said. “(IPL) is a very different experience to any other experience throughout the year; it’s a lot of time away from home, but if you give it everything you’ve got, it can reward you very well.”