Sanjay Manjrekar says Rs 11.5 crore for Liam Livingstone is a gamble from PBKS

Former India cricketer turned commentator Sanjay Manjrekar on Sunday has said that Punjab Kings paying Rs 11.50 crore to Liam Livingstone is a bit of a gamble. He stated that as Liam’s performances in the previous season of the Indian Premier League was not up to the mark. However, Livingstone became the costliest overseas player at the IPL 2022 mega auction after having a bidding war on Day 2.

Livingstone, a big-hitter from England who also bowls handy leg-spin, earned the interest from Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders, Gujarat Titans and SunRisers Hyderabad before Punjab Kings bought Rs 11.5 crore. Notably, Rajasthan Royals bought him for Rs 75 lakh last year. However, he managed just 42 runs in 5 matches before he was dropped from the team as well.

And, Sanjay Manjrekar said that he always believes talents get big money and he was surprised with the teams’ interest in Livingstone after his ordinary season for the Royals last year.

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“Before the auction, I said that one of the best performers in the auction have been Punjab Kings. They have got some significant players, Mayank Agarwal, Shikhar Dhawan and Jonny Bairstow, Harpreet Brar was a great selection. They have retained Arshdeep which is a great decision. They have got Rabada and they have got Rahul Chahar. These are formidable proven IPL talents. They had a lot of money left as they didn’t spend a lot on their above-mentioned picks,” Sanjay Manjrekar told Star Sports.

“He had struggled in the IPL last year” – Sanjay Manjrekar on Liam Livingstone

“I still maintain that Liam Livingstone is a gamble, considering his previous IPL experience. Odeon Smith is a story that we have seen many times before. Owners get excited about the talent that they see outside and sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn’t,” he added.

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Sanjay Manjrekar continued: “I was very gung-ho out Liam Livingstone after seeing him play for England against India. I thought he is some guy who will do good in the IPL, he is good against spin and a good bowler as well. But then he had around 6-7 failures for Rajasthan Royals. He was dropped and then brought back. But he just couldn’t get back to form.”

“That I thought will come into play. i always believe in backing proven materials. He had struggled in the IPL last year. I was a little surprised by the optimism that a lot of teams had for Liam Livingstone. IPL is a unique tournament, the pressure is high and the performances in the other parts of the world don’t have a lot of bearing on the buys,” Sanjay Manjrekar concluded.