Yusuf Pathan, the former all-rounder of the Indian cricket team, strongly criticized Liam Livingstone, a batsman from Punjab Kings (PBKS), for his behavior following his dismissal during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 match against Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Friday, May 19. Pathan expressed his opinion that if he held a position of authority, such as coach, captain, or mentor of Punjab Kings, he would never select Livingstone to play for the team again.
Livingstone was bowled out for 9 runs off 13 deliveries in the 66th match of IPL 2023 held in Dharamsala. While attempting to hit a big shot against RR pacer Navdeep Saini, he ended up losing his wicket. Surprisingly, after his dismissal, he was seen wearing a smile on his face, which appeared to be sarcastic, even though his team was in a difficult position at 50/4.
Pathan did not appreciate Livingstone’s reaction, and during the live broadcast, he expressed his disagreement with the batsman’s behavior, stating, “If we were the coach, captain, or mentor of Punjab Kings and you laugh after getting out to that kind of shot, then we will never consider selecting you (to play in the IPL) again.” Former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh also supported Pathan’s viewpoint and expressed surprise at Livingstone’s response to being dismissed.
Although Livingstone faced difficulties in the match, he has performed reasonably well throughout IPL 2023. In nine matches, he has scored 279 runs with an average of 34.88 and a strike rate of 163.16, including two half-centuries.
Despite Livingstone’s departure, PBKS recovered strongly to reach a total of 187/5, with impressive innings played by Sam Curran (49* off 31), Jitesh Sharma (44 off 28), and Shahrukh Khan (41* off 23).
Rajasthan Royals successfully chased down the target in 19.4 overs, thanks to notable contributions from Devdutt Padikkal (51 off 30), Yashasvi Jaiswal (50 off 36), and Shimron Hetmyer (46 off 28).