Two years ago in Lucknow, Sameer Rizvi sprinted across the Ekana Stadium with his helmet off and his heart pumping after winning a Super Over in the Uttar Pradesh T20 League. He just dismantled Bhuvneshwar Kumar and carried his side to the final. His teammates swarmed him, lifted him up, and the celebrations spilled over the field.
He was back in the same spot Wednesday night. The stage was bigger, the noise heavier, the stakes unmistakably higher. This time the celebration was quieter. There was no sprint, no madness. Just a peaceful departure after a job done. It felt like an arrival that took its time.
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Delhi Capitals needed more than intent as they set out to chase 142 against Lucknow Super Giants. They needed a break after the top order was thrown out. At 26 for 4, with KL Rahul, Pathum Nissanka and Axar Patel back in the pavilion, the chase was already tilted. Mohammed Shami, Mohsin Khan and Prince Yadav extracted movement and menace from a surface that offered help for both seam and spin.
What Delhi discovered at that point was confidentiality.
Getting to know the terms and conditions. Introduction to the role. Both came in the form of Rizvi.
Introduced as an Impact Player ahead of Ashutosh Sharma and Karun Nair, Rizvi was slotted in at No.4, a position he understands well from his time playing domestic and local T20 cricket in Uttar Pradesh.
The start was far from smooth. Eight balls passed before he got off the mark. At one stage he was 4 of 11. The ball was moving in the air and gripping the surface at speed and there was minimal room for error.
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Still, there was no urgency that would escalate into panic. Alongside Tristan Stubbs, Rizvi chose impulse control. The request crept up, but the goal remained within reach. The couple believed it.
On a red clay pitch that required conditioning rather than aggression, Rizvi showed the value of knowing the ground as well as his own game. This was not a typical high-scoring IPL surface. It was a contest where the ball kept swinging longer than expected. Rizvi responded not with invention but with understanding.
DISASTER AGAINST NORTJE
The release arrived in the eighth over. Anrich Nortje knocked one down in short, almost 150 km/h. The pace didn’t bother Rizvi. Length yes. It was wide enough, not threatening enough. Rizvi stayed firm, tracked the ball and edged it over third man for a six.
It was a shift.
“We didn’t get many boundaries in the beginning and I faced about 12 to 13 balls without one,” Rizvi said later. “Then I got a free delivery and I felt it was there to put it away. I managed to get a boundary out of it and that gave me a lot of confidence. Sameer Rizvi breaks the shackles against LSG. (PTI photo)
SLAYER OF SPIN
From there, the innings opened up. When the spin was introduced, Rizvi was ready. Lucknow’s decision not to use their best spinner from last season, Digvesh Rathi, as an impact substitute left them in check. Instead, Shahbaz Ahmed was brought in to deepen the batting and the absence of a front spinner played to Rizvi’s strengths.
He stepped back and punished anything short. When Aiden Markram’s off-spin appeared, Rizvi immediately sensed an opportunity. The field spread out, the pressure eased and the innings picked up pace.
He reached his fifty in 37 balls and finished unbeaten on 70 off 47, hitting four sixes and five boundaries. At the other end, Stubbs adjusted smoothly and allowed Rizvi to take the lead. Their unbroken partnership of 119 runs changed the game and brought Delhi home in 17.1 overs.
Rizvi looked like a batsman who understood not only the situation but also his place in it.
This clarity was not always available to him in the IPL.
RS 8.4 CRORE TO RS 95 LAKH
In 2024, after a prolific run in the Uttar Pradesh T20 League where he scored 455 runs including two hundreds, Rizvi was picked up by Chennai Super Kings for Rs 8.4 crore. Expectations naturally followed. His style has invited comparisons with Suresh Raina, particularly his comfort with pace and his ability to control spin.
However, the revenues did not live up to the promises. Eight games, five innings, 51 runs. He drifted in and out, often without a defined role. ČSK did not keep him.
The auction the following year was a fix. From Rs 8.4 crore to Rs 95 crore, with Delhi Capitals offering him another opportunity. His first season in Delhi showed flashes but not consistency. He played five matches, scored 121 runs and finished with an unbeaten 58 in his last game.
Delhi decided to keep him. Rizvi buckled under the high price tag at CSK but has now hit his back to the fifties in Delhi. (PTI photo)
ACCESS AND CONTINUITY
This decision brought continuity. It also brought access. Rizvi became a regular at Capitals preseason camps, working closely with the support staff and improving his approach.
It started to show. In the Vijay Hazare Trophy earlier this year, he scored 238 runs in seven innings at an average close to 60.
“I don’t focus on those things,” Rizvi said, referring to price tags and past performances. “I focus on processes, I try to be a better version of myself and I focus on the changes I need.
“The support staff and coaches have been very helpful. We’ve had a lot of off-season camps and we’ve always focused on improving our skills rather than putting pressure on performance.”
“They encouraged me to focus on my batting, understand what works for me and keep improving those areas. That helped me a lot.”
More than anything else, the clarity of the role seems to have grounded him.
Rizvi was told in advance that he will bat at No. 4. It is a position he is used to. It’s also where he looks most confident.
“It gives me a lot of confidence,” he said. “Whenever I play for UP State or in the UP T20, I usually bat at No.4, so I’m quite comfortable in that role.
“Getting the opportunity to play in a tournament like this is really exciting for me. It gives me the freedom to play my game the way I want. When I’m hitting in my usual position, I feel more poised and confident.”
“I try to mentally prepare myself for these chances. I go into it with the mindset of making the most of the opportunity and contributing to the team.”
This sense of understanding extended to his partnership with Stubbs.
“If the team needs quick runs, we look at it positively. If the situation is a bit difficult, we take some time and create an innings. Having someone at the other end who understands the situation well always helps.” Rizvi and Stubbs added an unbeaten 119 runs against LSG. (PTI photo)
Lucknow had louder innings. There were also faster ones. Rizvi himself has had more explosive nights at this place.
But this was different.
This shift wasn’t just built on instinct. It was shaped by awareness, patience and a growing sense of where he fits in this format. For perhaps the first time in his IPL career, Rizvi didn’t look like a player looking for a role.
He looked like the one who found it.
And if this is the starting point, it may be more than just the beginning.
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Issued by:
Kingshuk Kusari
Published on:
02 Apr 2026 11:43 IST
