Sameer Rizvi talks about first meeting with Suresh Raina: 'He gifted me an Oakley'

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) splurged Rs 8.4 crore to acquire the services of Uttar Pradesh (UP) batsman Sameer Rizvi, aged 20, during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 auction that was held in Dubai on Tuesday. The IPL auction saw fierce competition among CSK, Gujarat Titans (GT), and Delhi Capitals (DC) as they battled to snap up young power-hitter. Rizvi, who shone with his batting for the Kanpur Superstars in the UP T20 League, will make his debut for CSK in the upcoming IPL season. Rizvi’s remarkable performances for UP have drawn comparisons to former India star and ex-CSK vice-captain Suresh Raina, who also hails from the same state. Rizvi amassed 455 runs in nine games of UP T20 and has quickly risen to prominence in the middle order. CSK was looking forward to a replacement for Ambati Rayudu in the batting order, and Rizvi could be a strategic long-term investment for this role. His impressive domestic T20 record includes an average of 49.2 and a strike rate of 134.7. He has racked up 295 runs in 11 games. In List A cricket, Rizvi has contributed 174 runs at an average of 29. He spoke about his first meeting with Raina and how the former CSK and India player has been always a motivating factor in his career. WATCH:

Riz-e and Conquer! 🦁🔥

Here’s the story of Sameer Rizvi! 📹

— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) December 22, 2023

“In 2011, I was 7-8 years old. So where I used to practice, his (Suresh Raina) Ranji trophy match was there, I was a ball boy there. So Raina boy used to knock and he asked me to bowl,” Rizvi said in a video shared by CSK. “So I bowled and he used to knock, and after knocking an inning happened, between the innings gap, he was slip fielding. In slip fielding, he was standing and catching. So he called me and put me along with him in the slip,” he further added. Rizvi said that Raina has always motivated him right through his career. “There I met him for the first time, he gifted me an Oakley. That was my first meeting and he motivated me a lot, and not in UP PL, that I am playing very well and moving forward in my career. So whenever I spoke to him, he has motivated me a lot,” he said in the video.