Sameer Rizvi

Some Lesser Known Facts About Sameer Rizvi

• Sameer Rizvi is an Indian cricketer. He represented Uttar Pradesh in several domestic tournaments and Kanpur Superstars in the UP T20 League. In 2023, he went viral after Chennai Super Kings (CSK) acquired him in the IPL auction for the 2024 edition.

• After Sameer was born in Loiya village of Meerut, his family moved to the Lal Kurti area of Meerut. Sameer used to visit stadiums to watch the matches of his maternal uncle, Tankeeb Akhtar, which inspired him to play cricket. Tankeeb later trained Sameer.

  

• Although his father did not support Sameer initially, he later supported Sameer’s decision to play cricket. Before Sameer made his Ranji debut, his father suffered a brain haemorrhage.

  

• In 2014, he started playing for Uttar Pradesh Under-14 and went on to play for Under-16 and Under-19 teams. He also played in local and corporate cricket tournaments. In the 2021 Guts N Glory Corporate League, he scored 126 runs in 48 deliveries.

  

• In the 2019-20 domestic season, he made his debut for Uttar Pradesh and went on to play in several tournaments.

  

• In 2019, Sameer Rizvi played for India Under-19 in an international series.

  

• Before the IPL Auction for the 2024 season, Sameer wanted to give trials for IPL; however, he was named as the captain of the Uttar Pradesh Under-23 tournament for the BCCI’s Under-23 one-day tournament. His coach, Sunil Joshi, explained to Sameer that he could earn a name by playing well in the tournament instead of just giving the trials. Sameer later hit 454 runs in 7 matches of the Under-23 tournament.

  

• In the inaugural season of the UP T20 League in 2023, he emerged as the highest runscorer for Kanpur Superstars. In 10 matches, he scored 455 runs at an average of 50.56 and a strike rate of 188.8. He earned a reputation as a pinch hitter by hitting the maximum number of sixes (35) in the tournament. He made the highest individual score (122 runs) and fastest century of the tournament.

  

• In BCCI’s 2023 Men’s Under-23 State A tournament, he captained the Uttar Pradesh Under-23 team and led them to win the tournament by scoring 84 runs off 50 balls in the final. He also hit the maximum number of sixes (37) in the tournament.

  

• Rizvi was expected to be auctioned off for a high price due to such hard-hitting performances. In the 2024 IPL auction, he was acquired by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for Rs 8.40 crores against his base price of Rs 20 lakh. ^[3]IPL

  

• After the 2024 IPL auction, Sameer’s father said that the person behind the success of Sameer was his maternal uncle and first coach, Tankeeb. When Tankeeb was asked about the reason behind Sameer’s success, he said that Sameer worked very hard to make his aspirations come true. Sameer said that he wanted to perform well for CSK under Mahendra Singh Dhoni so that he could play for India at the earliest.

  

• Sameer’s batting position varies from number 4 to 7 in the middle order.

• He once talked about the former Uttar Pradesh and Indian cricketer, Suresh Raina, and said that Suresh once gave his goggles to Sameer as he was impressed with Sameer’s dedication while fielding in a match.

  

• Sameer mastered the technique of hitting sixes with the help of his Uttar Pradesh teammate, Rinku Singh, who is also popular as a hard-hitting finisher.