CSK youngster Sameer Rizvi has been in the news ever since he smashed stunning big shots in the final over in their last game. However, he came to bat when Shivam Dube got out and also played a quickfire knock.
“When Rashid came to bowl in the 19th over, the coach [Stephen Fleming] told me if a wicket falls, you will go out to bat,” Rizvi shared on Friday. “After that, it was set in my mind that it was the 19th over and it was a spinner bowling and if they are sending me at this point of the match, anyone who walks in will be expected to smash boundaries. So, in my head, only one thing was going on – I have to go out and hit it big – I was clear about that.”
However, he slog-swept Rashid Khan for a six on the first ball he faced in the tournament. In the same over, Rizvi hit his second six over long-off as well.
He added, “If you look at my previous matches, I have always been playing well against spinners,” Rizvi said. “Even at the nets, I have been playing well against spin. When I was a kid, my uncle [Tanqib Akhtar] was the one who made me practice batting against spin, he would bowl with tennis balls in a 30-yard circle. He would say if it went out of that 30-yard circle it would be a six. So, slowly we kept practicing over the years.”
Meanwhile, CSK’s batting coach Michael Hussey applauded Sameer Rizvi’s hitting abilities after the team’s victory over Gujarat Titans.
“He’s got a lot of natural hitting ability. We’ve seen it in practice, especially against the spinners. He can hit a long way, and can hit the ball very cleanly. It’s still a big ask for a young player to come in, in his first IPL game against arguably the best T20 bowler of all time in Rashid Khan and hit the first ball for a six. That’s crazy. So we’re very excited for him.”
“Before I stepped onto the ground at the team meeting, I received my debut cap. And that’s when I found out I was playing the first match. I was a little nervous when I was fielding but I never got to bat. But, in the second match, I mellowed down a bit and was not feeling nervous; there was no such pressure. I think I got used to the crowd after the match, so that’s why I was not feeling much pressure,” Rizvi said.
Meanwhile, CSK had a tough fight with GT and DC to buy Rizvi for a whopping INR 8.40 crore, but the youngster said that the price tag is not important as well.
“There’s no pressure. Price is never a pressure for a player, it’s just how I perform and score,” Rizvi said. “MS bhaiya (brother) has told me to focus on performance as the price tag is different for everyone. The main thing is how you perform and how you deal with pressure. It was a very nice feeling to be picked by CSK,” he said. “It was my dream to meet and play with Mahi bhaiya. And, that dream was fulfilled. Apart from that, I really did not expect to get picked by CSK or any other franchise for this amount. But I think they [CSK] showed faith in me, so I really liked that. One thing that I like most about this team is everyone backs one another, all of them are very helpful; it is amazing,” Sameer Rizvi concluded.
