IPL 2021: Liam Livingstone flies back to England due to bubble fatigue

Rajasthan Royals have suffered another blow as their all-rounder Liam Livingston has decided to fly back to England amid the bubble fatigue of the past year.

Rajasthan Royals took to their Twitter handle to release an official statement regarding the same on Tuesday.

This will definitely add to RR woes as the franchise is already hampered by injuries to their key players. Earlier, RR’s gun fast bowler Jofra Archer was ruled out for at least half of the season due to a finger injury, which he suffered in a freakish incident at home.

Furthermore, RR suffered another big blow after their talisman all-rounder Ben Stokes was ruled out of the entire season due to finger injury, which he suffered when he took Chris Gayle’s catch at long-on against Punjab Kings. Stokes will now undergo surgery in England and has returned back home.

Meanwhile, it was expected that Liam Livingstone will get his chances in the final XI as RR’s two main overseas players were ruled out. However, the team decided to back South Africa’s batsman David Miller, who grabbed his opportunity with both hands and scored a fine match-winning knock of 62 runs against Delhi Capitals.

Livingstone had warmed the benches in the first three matches of RR.

RR stated in a release on their Twitter account, “Liam Livingstone has flown back home late last night, due to bubble fatigue accumulated over the past year. We understand and respect his decision, and will continue supporting him in any way we can”.

On the other hand, the right-hander had a great run in the Big Bash League 2020-21 season while playing for Perth Scorchers. Livingstone scored 426 runs in 14 matches at an average of 30.43 and a strike rate of 133.96.

Furthermore, he scalped five wickets with his off-spin. Thus, he had played an instrumental role in taking his team to the final of the tournament. Livingstone was roped in for INR 75 lakhs in IPL 2021 auction by RR.

Rajasthan Royals will play their next match against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Wankhede Stadium on 22nd April.