England all-rounder liam livingstone has expressed concern over the batting-friendly conditions in IPL 2026, stating that the abundance of high-scoring contests has made the tournament less attractive from a player's point of view.
The recently concluded season saw an unprecedented number of run-fests, with many teams crossing the 200-run mark and many big scores being successfully chased down. Livingstone, who represents Sunrisers Hyderabad after being bought for Rs 13 crore in the auction, cited flat pitches and the impact player rule as the major factors behind the surge in scoring.
The hard-hitting all-rounder recalled a match against Mumbai Indians where Hyderabad had easily chased down the target of over 230. He admitted that the constant flow of boundaries ultimately took away the excitement of the competition.
“We were playing Mumbai and we chased 230 or 240 in 18 overs. I thought it was quite boring really. Just watching people go 6, 6, 6. There's no real skill involved. The pitches were so flat and the impact player just comes in. The boundaries are quite big but the pitches are so flat. In Mumbai, the ball just flies. Hyderabad,” Livingstone told the Stick to Cricket podcast. In, he played on the same pitch maybe five or six times.”
While Livingstone was critical of the batting-friendly surfaces, he had nothing but praise for teenage sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi, 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 many elite cricketers, he had never seen a talent like his Suryavanshi.
“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 had become for bowlers to find a weakness in his game.
“He's just the way he hits the ball, he hits the ball very cleanly, yes. He never mishits a ball, never mishits a ball the whole time. And wherever the ball is, the first time we got him out with a bouncer, the first ball he hit it straight. But then the development he made as a player from the beginning to the end of that tournament was like… we were bowling bouncers. And he was hitting it over third man, he would bowl it full, he would bowl a low toss, and you would say, 'Okay, wait where will we bowl?'
Suryavanshi's extraordinary rise has been one of the defining stories of IPL 2026, with many former players and experts predicting a bright future for the teenage talent.
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