The Indian Premier League (IPL) has slowly become a worldwide phenomenon that has become a powehouse in the world of cricket. Every player hopes to get a payday when they partake in the tournament.
However, a player has spoken against it. He claims it's become a bit of a bore due to the amount of runs that were scored.
England all-rounder, Liam Livingstone, has slammed the current state of the IPL, saying bowlers stood almost no chance on flat wickets. Speaking on the Stick to Cricket podcast, the 32-year-old described the IPL as "quite boring."
Livingstone was signed for the Sunrisers Hyderabad for the 2026 season in which the franchise reached the play-offs. Livingstone said that the increasing number of high-scoring matches and frequent sixes are reducing the excitement and competitiveness of cricket.
Livingstone believes that when fans see sixes being hit in almost every match, the true contest between bat and ball begins to disappear.
He explained that cricket is most enjoyable when both batters and bowlers have opportunities to influence the game. However, current conditions are making that increasingly difficult for bowlers.
The English cricketer identified flat pitches, the Impact Player rule and consistently high-scoring matches as major factors behind the trend.
According to Livingstone, these elements have created an environment where bowlers have limited chances to showcase their skills, making many matches feel one-sided.
He also noted that Sunrisers Hyderabad played several matches on the same pitch, which further increased the advantage for batters.
The Liam Livingstone IPL criticism has reignited discussions about whether the IPL should take steps to restore a better balance between batting and bowling.
Cricket analysts and fans continue to debate whether changes to pitches, playing conditions, or tournament rules are needed to ensure more competitive and balanced matches in future IPL seasons.
Livingstone criticised the pitches used during IPL 2026 and even claimed that the huge run-fests get 'quite boring' over time. The IPL 2026 saw a record number of 200-plus totals and a total of 200 or above was also chased down on 17 occasions. Livingstone, who was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 13 crore in the auction, cited the example of their match against Mumbai Indians where his team chased down a 244-run target with 8 balls to spare. He said that although the boundaries were quite big, the flat pitches provided a massive advantage to the batters.
"We were playing Mumbai and we chased 230 or 240 in 18 overs. I thought it is actually quite boring. Just watching people go 6, 6, 6. There is no real skill involved. The pitches were so flat and the Impact Player just comes in. The boundaries are big enough but the pitches are so flat. At Mumbai, the ball just absolutely flies. In Hyderabad, he played at the same pitch maybe five or six times," Livingstone said at the Stick To Cricket podcast.
If the greatest knocks of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's record-shattering IPL 2026 campaign were to be ranked; his breathtaking assault against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Eliminator would sit right at the top.
With Rajasthan Royals facing a do-or-die encounter, the 15-year-old batting sensation produced one of the most destructive innings in IPL history, hammering 97 off just 29 balls to power his side past Sunrisers Hyderabad and into Qualifier 2.
In Qualifier 2 against Gujarat Titans, Sooryavanshi once again lit up the stage with a sensational 96. Although Rajasthan Royals eventually lost by seven wickets and fell short of a place in the final, the teenager had already cemented his place as the standout performer of the tournament.
During his astonishing knock against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Sooryavanshi smashed 12 sixes, leaving players and fans alike in disbelief. Among those left stunned was Sunrisers Hyderabad all-rounder Liam Livingstone, a veteran of seven IPL seasons who admitted he had never witnessed anything quite like it.
"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 all-rounder was particularly impressed by Sooryavanshi's ability to evolve through the course of the tournament and find answers to every challenge bowlers threw at him.
"He's just like the way he hits a ball, he hits a ball so clean, yeah. He never really mis-hits a ball, never really mis-hits a ball the whole time. And wherever the ball, the first time we got him out with a bouncer, first ball he hit it straight up. But then the development that he made as a player from the start of that tournament to the end was like... we were bowling bouncers and he was hitting it over third man, and then you’d bowl this side, he’d hit it there; you bowl full, he hit it there; bowl a low full toss, he’d flick it over there. And you’re like, 'Well, hold on a minute, where do we bowl?'" Livingstone added.
Sooryavanshi's numbers from IPL 2026 were nothing short of extraordinary. The left-handed batter finished as the tournament's highest run-scorer, amassing 776 runs in 16 innings at a staggering strike rate of 237.30.
He also rewrote the record books by smashing 72 sixes during the season, breaking the previous IPL record of 59 sixes set by West Indies great Chris Gayle.
His remarkable campaign included one century and five half-centuries, earning him both the Orange Cap and the Most Valuable Player award.
I agree with the criticism. 200+ scores should be rare, if not occasional. These constant scores really got on my nerves. It wasn't even exciting to see. This eliminates the element of surprise and excitement. It creates the impression that there's no real competion. It's a mere case of Super Overs taking place multiple times over.