IPL 2021: Rajasthan Royals' Liam Livingstone flies back home due to bio-bubble fatigue

IPL 2021: Rajasthan Royals' overseas recruit Liam Livingstone has flown back home late on Monday due to bubble fatigue 'accumulated over the past year'.

Liam Livingstone dud not feature in any IPL games this year. (File picture)

Rajasthan Royals' overseas recruit Liam Livingstone has flown back home late on Monday due to bubble fatigue 'accumulated over the past year'.

The franchise confirmed the development and said that it ‘respects his decision’ and will continue supporting the English cricketer in any way it can. The 27-year-old all-rounder made his ODI debut for England last month and joined the Royals camp in Mumbai straightaway after the limited overs series between India and England got over in Pune.

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Even though he had to warm the bench for the Royals’ first three games, the cricketer was being considered one of the trump cards for the franchise. Incidentally, on Monday, the UK government placed India on the ‘red list’ following a surge in COVID-19 cases. With the new rule set ti be implemented from April 23, any British national returning home will have to fulfill a 10-day quarantine on their return.

While the franchise did not react to this, some of the BCCI officials - Sportstar spoke to - however, confirmed that there was no reason for English cricketers to panic. “One needs to understand that most cricketers have been inside the bio-bubble for a long time, so such cases might happen. Mental fatigue needs to be addressed by the players and people around them in these tough times ,” a Board official said.

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To address fatigue and mental health issues, the England and Wales Cricket Board had managed the workload of their players during the tours to Sri Lanka and India by giving the all-format players required break. The move had drawn flak from some former cricketer, but the cricketers had backed the move.

Rajasthan Royals suffered two defeats in its first three matches and will face off against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Mumbai on Thursday. The franchise is already without the services of Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer and is yet to name a replacement for Stokes - who was ruled out of the tournament due to a finger injury.

As far as Livingstone is concerned, it is not clear whether he will be immediately available for his county, Lancashire in the County Championships.