New Delhi, Feb 13 (IANS): Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar feels that Punjab Kings picking Liam Livingstone for INR 11.50 crore is a bit of a gamble, considering the England star's performance in the previous season of the IPL.

Livingstone became the costliest overseas player at the IPL 2022 mega auction on Day 2.

Notably, the big-hitter from England was sold at his base price of Rs 75 lakh to Rajasthan Royals last year. However, he managed to score just 42 runs in five matches before getting dropped from the team.

To this, Manjrekar told Star Sports, "Before the auction, I said that one of the best performers in the auction have been Punjab Kings. They have got some significant players, Mayank Agarwal, Shikhar Dhawan and Jonny Bairstow, Harpreet Brar was a great selection. They have retained Arshdeep which is a great decision.

"They have got Rabada and they have got Rahul Chahar. These are formidable proven IPL talents. They had a lot of money left as they didn't spend a lot on their above-mentioned picks.

"I still maintain that Liam Livingstone is a gamble, considering his previous IPL experience. Odeon Smith is a story that we have seen many times before. Owners get excited about the talent that they see outside and sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't," he added.