London, March 24 (IANS) England men’s cricket director Rob Key has responded to recent criticism from all-rounder Liam Livingstone, saying the player remains firmly in contention for national selection despite a disagreement over communication and team environment.

Livingstone, who has been out of the England setup since last year’s ICC Champions Trophy, had criticised the team management for avoiding difficult conversations and suggested his future depended on changes behind the scenes. He also claimed that Key had told him he had 100 more important things to do during a one-on-one discussion.

Responding to the remarks, Key defended his position but chose not to go into details of their conversation.

“Look, I’m not going to go into private conversations,” Key told Sky Sports. “Obviously, there’s another side to that conversation as I saw it. What I did say to Liam at the end of what was a fairly tetchy phone call to say the least [was that] there’s no way I see a player of Liam Livingstone’s ability not being up for selection for England,” he told ESPNCricinfo.

Key reiterated that the 32-year-old still has a pathway back into the side and revealed that selectors had considered recalling him earlier this year.

“There’s no way a player of his ability is out of the picture,” Key said, urging Livingstone to focus on performance. “If he gets back to his best and starts scoring runs, he’ll absolutely be in the frame again.”

The former England cricketer also pointed out that Livingstone was once seen as a leadership option during an ODI series against the West Indies in 2024.

“We thought as much of him to make him captain at one stage, when we didn’t have all the senior players there. I still have a huge amount of time for Liam Livingstone, and there’s no reason that someone at 32’s England career should be over,” Key said.

While Livingstone had described the England setup as cliquish, Key dismissed the claim but admitted that disagreements are common in a high-performance environment. He added that selection decisions will continue to be based on performance.

Meanwhile, Livingston has reached India to take part in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. He was purchased by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) for 13 crore in the auction.

–IANS

sds/