Gulf News

Liam believes in power hitting

Rajasthan Royals batsman looking for consistenc­y in UAE

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Livingston­e is a destructiv­e batsman who has close to 350 overall sixes to his name across formats.

England and Rajasthan Royals batsman Liam Livingston­e has said power hitting is his “super strength” and is hopeful to continue batting the same way in the Indian Premier League 2021.

A destructiv­e batsman who has close to 350 overall sixes to his name across formats, Livingston­e wants to be as consistent as possible. “Power-hitting is something that I’ve worked really hard at — trying to get that consistenc­y. Ultimately, it’s sort of a super strength for me at the moment and hopefully, I can continue with it,” said Livingston­e.

Currently in the midst of the season of his career, Livingston­e is back with the Rajasthan and straight away means business. Having been off the leash lately, scoring fluently with the help of a handful of sixes in most innings, the devastatin­g batter spoke on a variety of topics ahead of the resumption of the IPL season.

“I’ve really enjoyed my cricket over the last two or three months. I certainly wouldn’t have expected to do what I’ve done — if you would’ve said at the start of the summer that this was going to happen, I wouldn’t have believed you. So, it’s nice to see my hard work of the last couple of years starting to pay off,” said Livingston­e.

Withdraw midway

The hard-hitting Englishman had to withdraw midway into the first phase of IPL 2021, but says it was one of the toughest decisions he had to make.

“I had spent a lot of time away from home during the winter, living out of hotels. Ultimately, I guess the pressure of everything kind of built up to a point where I felt like I wasn’t in the best place to perform even if I was needed to,” said Livingston­e. “The best decision for me personally and my own health was to go home and take some time off, and I think Royals management were kind enough to understand this and make everything easy for me. I feel there’s more to life than just cricket, and sometimes we sort of forget that we are actual human beings and sometimes we have to look after ourselves.

“I guess the decision I made at the time wasn’t an easy one, I wanted to stay with the Royals and try to help us win some games. But I think sometimes your mental and physical health is most important.”

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Liam Livingston­e
■ Liam Livingston­e

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