Rob Key has insisted Liam Livingstone remains in England’s selection plans despite his outburst against management and current team management in an explosive interview. Livingstone criticized head coach Brendan McCullum and Rob Key, citing poor communication and lack of support in one of the most difficult periods of his international career.
The strong comments come after the 32-year-old all-rounder, who has represented England in 100 games across formats, admitted he has been out of the national squad for almost a year and feels a return now looks unlikely. Livingstone last played for England during the Champions Trophy last year. He claimed that Key initially promised a conversation “in the summer” but months passed with little or no contact.
When they finally spoke at the end of September, just before Livingstone’s central contract expired, Key informed him it would not be renewed – and reportedly brushed aside concerns over the silence, saying he had “100 more important things to attend to”.
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“Look, I’m not going to get into private conversations,” Key told Sky Sports News. “Obviously there’s another side to that conversation as I saw it. What I said to Liam at the end of what was a pretty gut-wrenching phone call to say the least (it was), there’s no way I can see a player of Liam Livingstone’s ability not being selected for England.”
Key said Livingstone was considering taking part in England’s tour of Sri Lanka just before the 2026 T20 World Cup. The England director said Livingstone was still highly rated and marked
“We debated him for the Sri Lanka series. Liam Livingstone is very much a player we’d like to see back to his best, scoring runs and then back in the England set-up.”
“We thought about him as much (as) making him captain at one stage when we didn’t have all the senior players there,” Key added, referring to the ODI series against the West Indies in late 2024. “That’s how we thought about him. I’ve still got a lot of time for Liam Livingstone and there’s no reason why anyone should quit at 32 in England.”
‘CAN’T KEEP EVERYONE HAPPY’
Key, whose own role came under the scanner after the Ashes debacle in Australiawas able to keep his job after a recently completed internal review. The England manager said that being in his place and keeping everyone happy will not be easy.
“You’re always going to have moments where, unfortunately, in these roles — especially when you’re fighting — you’re always going to get back at people you pissed off along the way, and that’s perfectly fine,” Key said.
“You can’t do these jobs to keep everyone happy, whether you’re England coach, whether you’re in my role, in any management role, you’re always going to have people who are upset and that’s part of life. But at the end of the day, Liam Livingstone or any of those players at the start of the summer in county cricket, they have a chance to play for England.”
Livingstone is all set to play in IPL 2026 season for SRH.
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Published on:
March 25, 2026 1:33 PM IST
