RCB released Liam Livingstone before IPL 2026 auction.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) bought Liam Livingstone for INR 8.75 crore with high expectations, but he couldn’t live up to those expectations. He was underwhelming for most of IPL 2025, especially with the bat, and was released before the IPL 2026 auction. RCB could afford to make this move since they already have Krunal Pandya and Romario Shepherd.
However, the defending champions will need to find a replacement for Livingstone, for whom they might not bid again. Maybe RCB won’t spend a big sum to fill this slot and opt for decent options in the domestic arena. They have a limited budget and will need to find upgrades in other departments, which would take a large chunk of their purse.
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RCB don’t have many options available to replace Liam Livingstone. A few obvious players are Lalit Yadav, R Rajkumar, and Sanjay Yadav. They all contribute with both bat and ball and have shown encouraging consistency lately.
They might not prefer Sanjay, even though he has been performing really well, since they have Krunal Pandya as a left-arm spinner with batting value. Jacob Bethell and Swapnil Singh are other options in the same category. Meanwhile, Rajkumar can bat in the middle order but bowls medium pace.
RCB already have Romario Shepherd and might look in the overseas market for another pace-bowling all-rounder to support Romario Shepherd. They lack an off-spinner in their squad to bolster the spin-bowling attack. That leaves them with Lalit.
There are multiple reasons why Lalit Yadav will fit well in the current setup. Firstly, RCB indicated their preference for slightly experienced players in the mega auction, as visible by the signings of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Krunal Pandya, and even Mayank Agarwal. Hence, they might stick with the same plan, and Lalit has previously played for the Delhi Capitals (DC) in IPL.
Moreover, he has shown immense improvement as a hitter in the middle order, as visible by his recent outings in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He has 202 runs at a strike rate of 162.90 and two fifties in five innings. More importantly, the all-rounder has batted in the middle order at No.5 in all these matches, precisely what RCB want.
His bowling value is also decent, for he can bowl tight lines and act as a matchup option. Obviously, he is not as good as Krunal, but precise usage can help RCB get a couple of overs from him. Lalit has been effective against LHBs in IPL before, with seven of his 10 wickets coming against southpaws at 34.85 runs apiece.
RCB won’t employ him consistently since they have a settled batting unit. Tim David’s recent improvement as a middle-order batter gives more flexibility and options. Hence, they can afford to have a middling option in this department and rather boost bowling stocks with specialists.
Lalit won’t be overpriced after falling off the radar and fit in RCB’s budget. With such a strong batting and bowling unit already, they don’t really need to overspend on a spin-bowling all-rounder. Lalit’s inclusion will be just for variety and more options rather than as a potential playing XI candidate.
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