Twenty-two-year-old Sameer Rizvi, still very much in the early days of his cricketing career, has already had quite the journey in the Indian Premier League.

The youngster, who hails from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, has been the story of the IPL 2026 season so far, playing two match-winning innings in Delhi Capitals’ unbeaten start to the tournament.

Rizvi has always been touted as an explosive six-hitter and one for the future. The Chennai Super Kings bought him for a whopping Rs. 8.4 crore at the IPL 2024 auction and while it’s taken him two years to properly establish himself, he had already showed signs of that special talent in his very first match in the IPL.

Facing Rashid Khan, the best T20 bowler in the world at the time, he was unfazed and confident in his approach, whacking him for a six on his first ball.

The 22-year-old was eventually dismissed for 14 runs in that game. But in that brief innings, coming in at six, he had shown he had the potential to be the next finisher, a role that MS Dhoni has been serving with aplomb for almost two decades.

However, as things panned out, Rizvi failed to make an impact thereafter and went on a downward spiral. He managed to score only 51 runs from eight innings at a strike rate of 118.60 that season, a pale shadow of the ability he had shown for UP in the domestic circuit and in that first game against Gujarat Titans.

The UP batter was subsequently not retained by CSK ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction.

Second chance

Rizvi, after a difficult first stint with CSK, went back to the domestic circuit to prove his mettle once again. His breakthrough came in the BCCI U-23 ODI Trophy.

In the 2023-24 edition of the tournament, Rizvi scored two centuries and half-centuries, and also hit the most sixes in the tournament (37).

But in the 2024-25 edition, Rizvi did not just deliver; he made a statement. Eager to prove a point, the right-handed batter became the first batter to score two double centuries in a single edition of the tournament, both at a strike rate over 190.

His first double century, 201 against Tripura, came off just 97 balls — the fastest in the tournament’s history.

After two good seasons in the U-23 State A Trophy, Rizvi played more frequently for Uttar Pradesh in the 2025-26 domestic season. | Photo Credit: K. MURALI KUMAR

On top of that, Rizvi finished the tournament as the second-highest run getter and once again hit the most sixes — he hit 62 sixes.

He was rewarded for his efforts with another opportunity in the IPL, as Capitals acquired him for INR 90 lakh at the 2025 IPL auction.

Lighting up the capital

The UP batter got only limited opportunities in his first season with DC, but he impressed every time he got the chance to play. In DC’s last game of the season against PBKS in 2025, Rizvi was the player of the match, scoring an unbeaten 58 from 25 balls to help his side chase down 206.

Rizvi had another productive stint for the Uttar Pradesh senior team in the 2025-26 domestic season, scoring crucial runs in the middle order in the Syed Mushtaq Ali and the Vijay Hazare Trophy, despite not breaking the selection door down.

And after two topsy-turvy years of setbacks and comebacks, Rizvi finally announced himself in style in DC’s first match of the IPL 2026 season. With DC pushed to a corner and reeling at 26/4 in the Powerplay, Rizvi, coming in at four, scored an unbeaten 70 of 47 balls to take his side home. What stood out in that innings was not his boundary-finding ability, a skill that has been central to Rizvi’s gameplay.

It was the maturity he showed, the manner in which the 22-year-old curbed his natural attacking instincts and played responsibly to help his side cross the line, a quality that we are perhaps witnessing for the first time in the youngster. Rizvi followed it up with an equally responsible and highly impactful innings of 90 off 51 against a Jasprit Bumrah-led Mumbai Indians bowling lineup, when DC got into early trouble while chasing yet again.

And just like that, from not knowing if he’ll get the chance to play in the IPL again, Rizvi has cemented himself as a vital cog in the Delhi Capitals batting lineup. Rizvi idolises Dhoni, going by his profile picture on his Instagram account. While he isn’t exactly playing the finisher role for DC, there is no doubt the master would be looking at his apprentice feeling proud of his development as a cricketer.

It’s only going to be up and upwards for the 22-year-old from UP from here on.

Published on Apr 05, 2026