England all-rounder Liam Livingstone is hoping to make the most of his maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) stint when the tournament gets underway in March this year.
The 25-year-old was picked up by the Rajasthan Royals in the recent IPL auction held in Jaipur and joins a huge English contingent at the franchise which already includes Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer.
Having already been capped twice at the T20 level for England, Livingstone believes participating in the IPL will prove to be a huge learning curve for him.
“It’s going to be a life experience, as well as an experience on the field, because you can’t get that sort of big-game experience anywhere else in the world apart from international cricket. It is going to be a great learning curve,” Livingstone told ESPNCricinfo.
The right-hander has previously paid professional cricket alongside Stokes and Buttler and he hopes that factor will help him settle down quickly at Rajasthan Royals.
Livingstone can also bowl some handy part-time spin.
“I’ve played cricket with Ben at Cumbria and Jos at Lancs (Lancashire), so I think that will be the best part of it, some familiar faces. It’s great to be going to a franchise with guys I already know, so hopefully that’ll help me settle into the environment a little quicker,” the all-rounder said.
With Archer on the verge of qualifying for England, there could be as many as four Englishmen in the Royals squad during the 2019 edition of the IPL. Livingstone is hoping this fact will make them the most followed IPL team back in England.
“It’s obviously great to have the English contingent, and that’ll give us a big following back home in England, for people who don’t really support a team in the IPL, they’ll see four English lads in one squad and take a lot of interest in that,” he stated.
Despite concerns over the clash with the country’s upcoming general elections, the 2019 edition of the IPL will take place in India itself and has been proposed to get underway on March 23.
