England all-rounder Liam Livingstone has expressed concerns over the batting-friendly conditions in IPL 2026, stating that the abundance of high-scoring encounters made the tournament less engaging from a player’s perspective.
The recently concluded season witnessed an unprecedented number of run-fests, with several teams crossing the 200-run mark and many massive totals being successfully chased. Livingstone, who represented Sunrisers Hyderabad after being acquired for INR 13 crore at the auction, pointed to the flat pitches and the Impact Player rule as key factors behind the surge in scoring.
The hard-hitting all-rounder recalled a match against Mumbai Indians where Hyderabad chased down a target in excess of 230 with relative ease. He admitted that the constant flow of boundaries eventually reduced the excitement of the contest.
“We were playing Mumbai and we chased 230 or 240 in 18 overs. I thought it is actually quite boring. Just watching people go 6, 6, 6. There is no real skill involved. The pitches were so flat and the Impact Player just comes in. The boundaries are big enough but the pitches are so flat. At Mumbai, the ball just absolutely flies. In Hyderabad, he played at the same pitch maybe five or six times,” Livingstone said at the Stick To Cricket podcast.
While Livingstone was critical of the batting-friendly surfaces, he had nothing but admiration for teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who emerged as one of the biggest stars of IPL 2026.
The 15-year-old enjoyed a remarkable breakthrough campaign and impressed experts and players alike with his fearless approach and ability to dominate bowling attacks. Livingstone revealed that despite spending seven seasons in the IPL and sharing the field with several elite cricketers, he had never witnessed a talent quite like Sooryavanshi.
“I’ve never seen anything like it. And I’ve been there; this year was my seventh IPL. And I’ve played with and against some very good players, and I’ve never seen anything like it,” Livingstone said on the Stick to Cricket Podcast.
The England international particularly highlighted the youngster’s clean ball-striking and rapid improvement throughout the tournament, noting how difficult it became for bowlers to find a weakness in his game.
“He’s just like the way he hits a ball, he hits a ball so clean, yeah. He never really mis-hits a ball, never really mis-hits a ball the whole time. And wherever the ball, the first time we got him out with a bouncer, first ball he hit it straight up. But then the development that he made as a player from the start of that tournament to the end was like… we were bowling bouncers and he was hitting it over third man, and then you’d bowl this side, he’d hit it there; you bowl full, he hit it there; bowl a low full toss, he’d flick it over there. And you’re like, ‘Well, hold on a minute, where do we bowl?'” he added.
Sooryavanshi’s extraordinary rise has been one of the defining stories of IPL 2026, with several former players and experts predicting a bright future for the teenage prodigy.
