Liam Livingstone, known for hitting some of the biggest sixes in contemporary cricket, doesn’t agree with those who believe that the role of the “anchor” is fading out in the shortest format of the game.

The England all-rounder, who is plying his trade for Punjab Kings in the IPL, feels the batting approach varies from team to team.

Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Virat Kohli has recently been criticised by some for playing the “anchor’s role” and taking the match deep. The same applies for KL Rahul, the Lucknow Super Giants captain, who currently is out of the IPL with an injury. Recently, Ricky Ponting, Delhi Capitals head coach, also said that the role of anchors was probably dying in the shortest format.

“It depends on each team, everybody plays the game in a very different way. I don’t like the term anchor either. Every team has different players and it is all about every player having a key role in how to play,” Livingstone said.

Livingstone joined Punjab mid-way into the IPL this time as he was completing his knee injury-related rehabilitation. But he has since made some important contributions for his team and is keen to take his team to the playoffs. Punjab need to win their remaining three games to keep alive their playoffs chances.

“It has been a while since I played, good time to reflect and work on my game and now really nice to be back enjoying playing cricket,” Livingstone said.

On Punjab’s run so far, he said: “It has been very up and down. We have played some good cricket at times, but lost crucial moments throughout the season. We now have to win three out of three so everyone is excited for what is to come,” he said. Punjab’s next match is against Delhi Capitals on Saturday.

Though his game perfectly suits the T20 world, Livingstone hasn’t given up on his Test aspirations. He was injured on his Test debut in Pakistan in December.

“It has become harder and harder to play all three formats but there are players playing all of them. Nobody knows how the next few years are going to look. It was obviously a massive dream for me all my life to play Test cricket. Hopefully, there will be more opportunities further down the line.”

Written with inputs from PTI