Rizvi reboot: Delhi Capitals' rising star finds fresh start on familiar turf

Two years ago in Lucknow, Sameer Rizvi sprinted across the Ekana Stadium, helmet off, heart racing, after sealing a Super Over win in the Uttar Pradesh T20 League. He had just taken apart Bhuvneshwar Kumar and carried his side into the final. Teammates swarmed him, lifted him, and the celebrations spilled across the outfield.

On Wednesday night, he was back at the same venue. The stage was larger, the noise heavier, the stakes unmistakably higher. This time, the celebration was quieter. There was no sprint, no frenzy. Just a composed walk off after a job done. It felt like an arrival that had taken its time.

Delhi Capitals needed something more than intent when they walked out to chase 142 against Lucknow Super Giants. They needed calm after the top-order was blown away. At 26 for 4, with KL Rahul, Pathum Nissanka and Axar Patel back in the pavilion, the chase had already tilted. Mohammed Shami, Mohsin Khan and Prince Yadav had extracted movement and menace from a surface that offered assistance to both seam and spin.

What Delhi found, in that moment, was familiarity.

Familiarity with conditions. Familiarity with role. Both came in the form of Rizvi.

Introduced as the Impact Player ahead of Ashutosh Sharma and Karun Nair, Rizvi walked in at No. 4, a position he understands well from his time in 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 off 11. The ball was moving in the air and gripping off the surface at pace, and the margin for error was minimal.

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Yet there was no urgency that tipped into panic. Alongside Tristan Stubbs, Rizvi chose control over impulse. The asking rate crept up, but the target remained within reach. The pair trusted that.

On a red-soil pitch that demanded adjustment rather than aggression, Rizvi showed the value of knowing both the ground and his own game. This was not a typical high-scoring IPL surface. It was a contest, one where the ball held sway longer than expected. Rizvi responded not with invention, but with understanding.

THE RAMP AGAINST NORTJE

The release arrived in the eighth over. Anrich Nortje banged one in short, close to 150 kph. The pace did not trouble Rizvi. The length did. It was wide enough, not threatening enough. Rizvi stayed firm, watched the ball, and ramped it over third man for six.

It was a shift.

“We didn’t get many boundaries early on, and I had faced around 12 to 13 balls without one,” Rizvi said later. “Then I got a loose delivery, and I felt it was there to be put away. I managed to get a boundary off it, and that gave me a lot of confidence.”

SLAYER OF SPIN

From there, the innings opened up. When spin was introduced, Rizvi was ready. Lucknow’s decision not to use their best spinner from last season, Digvesh Rathi, as the Impact Substitute left them short of control. Shahbaz Ahmed was brought in to deepen the batting instead, and the absence of a frontline spinner played into Rizvi’s strengths.

He rocked back and punished anything short. When Aiden Markram’s off-spin appeared, Rizvi sensed the opportunity immediately. The field spread, the pressure eased, and the innings gathered pace.

He reached his fifty in 37 balls and finished unbeaten on 70 from 47, striking four sixes and five boundaries. At the other end, Stubbs adapted seamlessly, allowing Rizvi to take the lead. Their unbroken 119-run partnership transformed the game and carried Delhi home in 17.1 overs.

Rizvi looked like a batter who understood not just the situation, but his place within it.

That clarity has not always been 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 followed naturally. His style invited comparisons with Suresh Raina, particularly his comfort against pace and his ability to dominate spin.

The returns, however, did not match the promise. Eight matches, five innings, 51 runs. He drifted in and out, often without a defined role. CSK did not retain him.

The auction the following year was a correction. From Rs 8.4 crore down to Rs 95 lakh, with Delhi Capitals offering him another opportunity. His first season with Delhi showed glimpses but not consistency. He played five matches, scored 121 runs, and ended with an unbeaten 58 in his final game.

Delhi chose to retain him.

ACCESS AND CONTINUITY

That decision brought continuity. It also brought access. Rizvi became a regular at the Capitals’ pre-season camps, working closely with the support staff and refining his approach.

It began 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 these things,” Rizvi said, referring to price tags and past performances. “I focus on the processes, trying to be a better version of myself and focus on changes I need.

“The support staff and coaches have been very helpful. We have had a lot of off-season camps, and the focus has always been on improving our skills rather than putting pressure on performances.

“They have encouraged me to focus on my batting, understand what works for me and keep improving those areas. That has helped me a lot.”

More than anything else, it is the clarity of role that appears to have grounded him.

Rizvi was told in advance that he would bat at No. 4. It is a position he is used to. It is also where he looks most assured.

“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 an 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 batting in my usual position, I feel more settled and confident.

“I try to prepare myself mentally for these chances. I go in with the mindset of making the most of the opportunity and contributing to the team.”

That sense of understanding extended to his partnership with Stubbs.

“If the team needs quick runs, we look to be positive. If the situation is a bit tough, we take some time and build the innings. Having someone at the other end who understands the situation well always helps.”

There have been louder innings in Lucknow. There have been faster ones too. Rizvi himself has known more explosive nights at this venue.

But this was different.

This innings was not built on instinct alone. It was shaped by awareness, by patience, and by a growing sense of where he fits in this format. For perhaps the first time in his IPL career, Rizvi did not look like a player searching for a role.

He looked like one who had found it.

And if this is the starting point, it may well be more than just a beginning.

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