Power-hitting has become a super strength for Rajasthan Royals’ Liam Livingstone

England’s Liam Livingstone is eager to make his presence felt for Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the second half of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021, with the player currently in the midst of ‘the season of his career’. Livingstone left his mark in the maiden edition of the Hundred and has been a star performer for the national team as well.

“I’ve really enjoyed my cricket over the last two or three months. I certainly wouldn’t have expected to do what I’ve done – if you would’ve said at the start of the summer that this was going to happen, I wouldn’t have believed you. So, it’s nice to see my hard work of the last couple of years starting to pay off,” stated the English cricketer, reflecting on his fine form as quoted by RR’s official website.

“I feel there’s more to life than just cricket”

Livingstone had to withdraw midway into the first phase of the IPL 2021. The cricketer admitted that it was one of the toughest decisions he had to make.

“I had spent a lot of time away from home during the winter, living out of hotels. Ultimately, I guess the pressure of everything kind of built up to a point where I felt like I wasn’t in the best place to perform even if I was needed to. The best decision for me personally and my own health was to go home and take some time off, and I think Royals management were kind enough to understand this and make everything easy for me,” said the Englishman.

“I feel there’s more to life than just cricket, and sometimes we sort of forget that we are actual human beings and sometimes we have to look after ourselves. I guess the decision I made at the time wasn’t an easy one, I wanted to stay with the Royals and try to help us win some games. But I think sometimes your mental and physical health is most important,” added Livingstone.

“We’ve now got a great opportunity to qualify for the playoffs”

The Englishman is optimistic about RR’s prospects going into the second half of IPL 2021, further stating that it is a great opportunity to qualify for the playoffs.

“We’ve now got a great opportunity to qualify for the playoffs. I feel like we’ve put together a really good squad, we’ve filled our overseas with good quality. We’ve got a lot of Indian talent in our group and hopefully we can get our combinations right to get some points. Power-hitting is something that I’ve worked really hard at – trying to get that consistency. Ultimately, it’s sort of a super strength for me at the moment and hopefully I can continue with it.”

Livingstone believes that he is at the peak of his career at the age of 28, having played more than 150 T20 matches across domestic and global leagues.

“I guess so. A lot of sportspersons don’t peak until they’re at the age of 30, so hopefully I’m just starting to hit the peak of my career and can continue performing well in the next four-five years. In the last couple of years, I’ve played at different positions. I open at home (with Lancashire), I play at 5 or 6 for England. So, it’s something that I’ve plied myself on…being adaptable to wherever I can contribute within a team, and I guess its something that helps me, makes me a little bit more selectable.”