"Playing with the likes of Virat is going to be really cool" - England star excited to represent RCB in IPL 2025
England's batting all-rounder Liam Livingstone has admitted that he is excited to represent Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Having been picked by RCB at the IPL 2025 mega auction, the English cricketer commented that playing with the likes of Virat Kohli is going to be cool.
Livingstone was among the many players released by Punjab Kings (PBKS) ahead of the IPL 2025 auction. The Punjab franchise retained only two players ahead of the auction in Jeddah. Subsequently, the versatile England cricketer was bought by Royal Challengers Bengaluru for an impressive sum of ₹8.75 crore.
Speaking to Reuters, Livingstone expressed his happiness over being purchased by the Bengaluru franchise. He said (as quoted by The Times of India):
"There's a few people in that team I know really well, so I'm pretty excited to get out there as a group. Playing with the likes of Virat is going to be really cool."
While describing RCB's fan base as extremely passionate, the 31-year-old opined that the comparatively smaller stadium in Bengaluru should suit his batting.
"The fan base is very passionate. It's probably one of the biggest franchises in IPL... It's a bit of a fresh start for me. I think Bangalore is going to be very good for my game. It's a little bit smaller than some of the stadiums in India, certainly better than what Punjab was for me. Hopefully, my game should suit that place well," Livingstone commented.
Apart from the batting all-rounder, RCB also purchased England's destructive keeper-batter Phil Salt for ₹11.50 crore at the IPL mega auction.
Livingstone slammed 15-ball 50* a day after being picked by RCB at IPL 2025 auction
Just a day after being purchased for ₹8.75 crore by Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the IPL 2025 auction, the dashing England batter clubbed 50* off 15 balls for Bangla Tigers against Delhi Bulls in the Abu Dhabi T10.
The right-handed batter slammed three fours and five sixes in his entertaining knock as Bangla Tigers chased down a target of 124 in 9.4 overs, winning the contest by seven wickets.