New Delhi: “Get ready, a challenge is coming.” This was Akshar Patel’s message to Sameer Rizvi ahead of IPL 2026.
What Rizvi didn’t know at the time was how quickly the challenge would arrive—or how decisively he would stamp his authority on it. When that happened, the 22-year-old gave a statement.
Chasing 142 against the Lucknow Supergiants, Rizvi came in at No. 4. 4 and scored an unbeaten 70 off 47 balls, leading Delhi Capitals to a six-wicket win.
He was making life difficult for the batsmen along with his UP teammate Mohsin Khan and the rest of the LSGP pace battery.
Rizvi managed to withstand the initial pressure.
However, Rizvi managed to withstand the initial pressure, eventually finding his rhythm and accelerating with precision. ‘No. 4 is his favourite position. Rizvi’s satisfaction with this position is not surprising.
He entered the IPL 2026 on the back of consistent domestic form – scoring 491 runs in the UP T20 League, where he batted primarily at No. 4.
“I am comfortable batting at No. 4. I wanted to bat at that position and the coach told me earlier that I would come to No. 4 and he would support me.”
“He asked me to play my natural game and stay positive,” Rizvi told reporters after the game. Axar’s recall before the start of DC’s season was a confirmation of the management’s faith in him.
According to his uncle and formative coach, Tankib Akhtar, Rizvi enjoys batting at No. 4, with timing in the middle being the key to his game. You have to bat at No. 4; be prepared. 4]. Be ready.
That’s what Akshar Patel told him,” Akhtar told Timesofindia.com. He was delighted. Number four is his favourite batting position. When he called me, he was very happy and said, ‘It was wonderful, Ma’am.’
Samir Rizvi with his uncle and formative coach, Tankib Akhtar
Last year, in the final match, he played a great innings, scoring 58 runs to win for Delhi.
That’s where it all started for him. He played a fantastic innings against LSG as well. The only change was that he needed time at the crease, and Axar gave him that time yesterday.
Once he got time to settle on the wicket, he batted very happily. “Mum, you’ll see—I’ll play well this time.”
Rizvi was the second highest run-scorer in the UPT20 league with an average of 61.38 and 161.51 runs. He continued his prolific form in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, scoring 238 runs at an average of 59.50.
Back home in Meerut, their preparations for IPL 2026 were intense and methodical. When he is in Meerut, he bats for three hours at the centre wicket.
Medium pacers, spinners, fast bowlers — everyone was used to prepare him for the IPL. He has worked very hard for this season.
I am sure he will continue to play match-winning innings this season. While leaving, he just said, ‘Mum, you’ll see — I’ll play well this time,’ says Akhtar.
8 crores or 20 lakhs – playing cricket is the best. Rizvi’s IPL journey has already seen a sharp turn.
Picked up by Chennai Super Kings for 8.40 crores in 2024, he struggled to convert his chances and managed just 51 runs in eight matches.
He was released the following season – a move that raised eyebrows and brought with it an inevitable price drop.
Delhi Capitals picked him up for Rs 95 lakh. This massive decline in price could have easily upset the youngster, but as Akhtar says, for Rizvi, it was always about playing the game, not the price tag attached to it.
“Look, the elder cares a lot, but Samir has never shown it in his form. [Look, it does hurt a lot, but Sameer never showed it in his face.] Cricket comes first for him. He never talks about price.
He used to say that, whether it was Rs 8 crore or a base price of Rs 20 lakh, he just wanted to play cricket, whichever IPL team it was,” says Akhtar.
In 2025, after joining the playing eleven for the opening matches, Rizvi lost his place to the likes of Abhishek Porel and Ashutosh Sharma and eventually managed just five games in the entire season – scoring 121 runs at 40.33 and scoring 153.16, including a fifty in the DC final. Making an impact
This year, though, as a substitute for influence, Rizvi has made his mark with a match-winning knock in the very first game.
Now he will hope for a consistent run; Akhtar, too, believes that is within reach. “Maoka got a lot of work at CSK [he didn’t get many opportunities there].
Even now in the IPL, it was his second or third time, and he played a fantastic innings,” says Akhtar, adding that the CSK stint helped develop Rizvi as a cricketer.
“He learned a lot from MS Dhoni – both his approach to the game and his thinking developed.
But when Dhoni left the captaincy, everything changed. I also asked him about opportunities or moving up the batting order.
He said that the captain is different now. He didn’t get enough opportunities, that’s all,” recalls Akhtar.
At DC, Rizvi seems to have found the ideal support system – a captain who trusts him and a senior pro he can lean on.”
Azhar has helped him a lot. He treats him as if he were his older brother. He also spends time with KL Rahul.
He has told him one thing: ‘Focus on your goal,'” says Akhtar about the DC setup.
Rizvi has demonstrated early signs of his potential to seize opportunities in his third IPL year, from quietly stepping up in the pre-season to rising to the challenge.
