In cricketing circles, Sameer Rizvi is often called the right-handed Suresh Raina because of his ability to smash the spinners and electrifying presence on
the field.
Having clarity of his role, Rizvi showed a sense of purpose when he came out to bat in Lucknow on Wednesday. At 26/4 in the fifth over, it seemed Delhi Capitals had lost the plot, but Impact Player Rizvi produced an unbeaten knock of 70 off 47 balls that guided them to a six-wicket win.
The Meerut-born 22-year-old was confidence personified and never troubled by the Lucknow Super Giants pacers, who had been wreaking havoc then with seam movement, and showed the maturity which belied his age and experience.
“The coaches had already told me that I would bat at No. 4, and they told me they would back my natural positive game. I bat at No. 4 even for Uttar Pradesh and in the UPT20 League. If I get to bat there in the IPL, it is a huge opportunity for me. They have also given me the freedom to play my natural game, so that also gives me a lot of confidence,” Rizvi said.
He shot into the limelight when he was signed for a whopping ₹8.4 crore by Chennai Super Kings ahead of IPL 2024, because of his fearless batting in the domestic circuit. He lived up to his billing by smashing the first ball he faced in the IPL, off Rashid Khan, for a six over square leg. However, he failed to contribute much with the bat in his debut season and was not retained by CSK.
But he still remembers what Mahendra Singh Dhoni told him after a practice match at the CSK camp in his first year. “Game ka pressure lena hai. Situation ka pressure lena hai. Audience ka ya apne price tag ka — ye pressure nahi lena,” Rizvi said during a chat with a YouTube channel before IPL 2026.
At the mega auction before IPL 2025, Rizvi was picked by Delhi Capitals (DC) for
₹95 lakh and has been with them since.
Rizvi needed to prove himself at a critical juncture on Wednesday. While being cautious at the start against the likes of Mohammed Shami, Prince Yadav and Mohsin Khan, he broke free once Anrich Nortje came on. A six over third man made everyone sit up and take notice.
“I had not hit a single boundary until that point. I had already faced 12 to 13 balls. I felt that it was a loose ball, so I went after it. I got a lot of confidence from that shot. After that, I was relaxed,” Rizvi said.
Rizvi’s unbroken 119-run stand with Tristan Stubbs set the foundation for the 143-run target. Playing at home helped, but Rizvi is aware that the innings will raise expectations and he is ready to deliver.
Former England captain Kevin Pietersen, who was part of the Delhi Capitals dugout last season, heaped praise on the young batter and urged the team management to keep backing Rizvi.
“He played the situation beautifully, and I’m not surprised. I spent a lot of time with Sameer last season, watched him closely. He scored a hundred in a warm-up game but, unfortunately, couldn’t find a place in the first half of the tournament.
“However, when he got his opportunity later in the season, he showed what he was about, and everybody looked up and said, ‘this kid is a proper player', and we probably need to invest in him for a period of time,” Pietersen told JioHotstar.
