Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) released batting all-rounder Liam Livingstone ahead of the IPL 2026 auction. Apart from Liam Livingstone, RCB also released Mayank Agarwal, Lungi Ngidi and Swastik Chikara, while retaining the core of their squad. Bengaluru will go into the auction with a purse of ₹16. 40 crore and eight slots left (two overseas). Livingstone contributed a handy 25 off 15 in the IPL 2025 final, but had a poor season overall. In eight innings, the right-handed batter scored 112 runs at an average of 16 and a strike rate of 133. 33, hitting one half-century. With the ball, he picked up two wickets at an economy rate of 8. 44. Overall, the England cricketer has the experience of 49 IPL matches. Livingstone was purchased by RCB at the IPL 2025 mega auction for ₹8. 75 crore. In this feature, we look at three teams that can target the England batting all-rounder at the IPL 2026 mini-auction. #1 Chennai Super Kings Five-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) traded two all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran to Rajasthan Royals (RR) in exchange for keeper-batter Sanju Samson. As such, CSK would need to strengthen their all-round department as they build a squad for IPL 2026. The Chennai franchise have retained the likes of Shivam Dube and Jamie Overton, who can provide the big hits with the bat and chip in with their medium pace bowling. However, they need to seek a replacement for Jadeja, who played the role of a finisher and offered spin option as well with the ball. Livingstone is not in the same class as Jadeja. However, to be fair, it would be difficult to find an all-rounder as good as Jadeja at the auction. Given the options, Livingstone seems a suitable replacement. He has the ability to play quick-fire knocks and is an underrated spinner. CSK have a purse of ₹43. 40 crore for the auction and four overseas slots. They have enough reasons to target Livingstone. #2 Punjab Kings IPL 2025 runners-up Punjab Kings (PBKS) released big-hitters Glenn Maxwell and Josh Inglis ahead of the mini-auction. Maxwell had a horror 2025 season with the willow for PBKS, scoring just 48 runs in six innings. With the ball, he claimed four wickets at a decent average. Inglis scored 278 runs in 11 innings at an average of 30. 88 and a strike rate of 162. 57. PBKS have a strong top three in Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh and Shreyas Iyer. However, they need more power-hitters in the middle and lower to support someone like a Shashank Singh. Shashank hammered 61* off 30 in the IPL 2025 final, but it was a one-man show, with wickets falling around him. Punjab could think of buying Livingstone, who represented them from 2022 to 2024, at the IPL 2026 auction to strengthen their big-hitting department. He can be viewed as a potential replacement for Maxwell as the England star can also turn his arm over. PBKS have a purse of ₹11. 50 crore for the auction and two overseas slots left. They can target Livingstone as one of their foreign buys. #3 Kolkata Knight Riders After struggling to defend their IPL title earlier this year, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) released a number of big names from their squad. The prominent players they released include Andre Russell, Anrich Nortje, Moeen Ali, Quinton de Kock, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Venkatesh Iyer. In Russell, Moeen and Venkatesh, KKR let go three all-rounders to boost up their purse ahead of the IPL 2026 auction. They have retained Sunil Narine, who is a match-winner with both ball and bat. However, their squad, after retentions and releases, looks thin on all-rounders. KKR can boost their all-round department with the inclusion of Livingstone. On his day, he can be as destructive as Russell with the willow in hand. The 32-year-old also has the knack of breaking crucial partnerships with the ball in hand. Kolkata head into the auction with a mammoth purse of ₹64. 30 crore and six overseas slots left. They should try and target Livingstone at the IPL 2026 mini auction.
https://www.sportskeeda.com/cricket/3-teams-target-liam-livingstone-ipl-2026-auction-ft-pbks
