England head coach Brendon McCullum (AP Photo) NEW DELHI: Liam Livingstone has come down heavily on England’s team management, saying he felt a lack of respect and communication after being dropped from the 2025 national team. The England all-rounder revealed that he has been out of the squad since March last year and now doubts whether he will return to the team under the current management.
Jay Shah calls 2019 to 2026 as the golden era of Indian cricket
Frustration with the England management
Livingstone said he only received a brief call from head coach Brendon McCullum to inform him that he had been left out of the squad for the West Indies series. According to him, the conversation lasted barely a minute.“I asked why (I was dropped). They said they wanted to try someone else. That was out of Baz. Wrighty (outgoing selector Luke Wright) didn’t get back to me and Brooky (captain Harry Brook) sent me a text,” Livingstone told ESPNCricinfo.He also expressed disappointment at England chief executive Rob Key for not communicating with him after the decision.“That probably sums up the group as a collective. Keysy (Rob Key) didn’t say anything. (He) said I’ll talk to you in the summer. I actually called him one day and said he was busy at the Loughborough test camp. And then I didn’t hear from him until the end of September,” he added.“It was a bit of an eye-opening experience about the group and the regime: if you’re in, you’re in, and if you’re not in, nobody cares about you. It reassured me that my cricket will be more enjoyable in the future.”
He struggles with his role in the team
Livingstone also recalled asking McCullum for help during the 2025 tour of India when he was struggling with form. However, he felt that the advice he received was not helpful.“I asked for help and basically all I got was that I’m worrying too much and I need to calm down a bit and everything will take care of itself,” Livingstone said.“If things don’t go right, of course you won’t care; if I didn’t care, then I probably wouldn’t want to play the sport.”Another issue for him kept revolving around the batting order.“One of my frustrations playing for England was that whenever I went up the order I did really well. And then the big boys came back and I was always back at No.7,” he added.“At the end of the day, I don’t want to be somebody who’s the sixth pitcher and bats at No. 7. I feel like it’s a waste of my talent, but that’s just my opinion.”
Looking forward 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 to miss the tournament.“I didn’t miss it one bit,” he said. “To be honest, no part of me wanted me to play on this team.The all-rounder is now hoping that a strong IPL season will help him revive his career and possibly get another chance in England.“I’m hoping to have the kind of season I had in my first year at Punjab (Kings, in 2022) where I felt like I was playing really well and winning a lot of games from No.4,” he said. “(The IPL) is a very different experience to anything else during the year; it’s a long time away from home – but if you give it everything you’ve got, it can pay off very nicely.”
