Once again, Sameer Rizvi has shown why he is one of the best middle-order Indian batter in T20 cricket as he slammed a 31-ball half-century against Mumbai Indians on Saturday. The Delhi Capitals batter, who played a match-winning 70-run knock in the team’s IPL 2026 opener against LSG, continued on his fine form in the next game as well. For a fact, he has cemented his spot as number 4 in the side despite being used as an impact player, with Harry Brook initially set to occupy the spot.
Rizvi smokes another half-century
Rizvi, who was once again used as an impact player by DC, slammed his half-century off just 31 deliveries. He reached his fifty in style by launching a huge maximum into the stands. Rizvi struck 4 fours and five sixes at the time of publishing this copy. DC seem to have found their new number 4 and a promising one in the form of Rizvi. He finished with 90 runs off 51 balls, after being dismissed in the 17th over. Sameer stitched together a 66-run partnership with Nissanka first to stabilize DC’s innings before putting up a 78-run partnership with David Miller to put the team in the driver’s seat in the run-chase.
Sameer Rizvi in IPL
First 8 inns: Runs: 114, Avg: 16.3, SR: 118 | HS: 39
Last 3 inns: Runs: 218, Avg: 218.0, SR: 177, 50s: 3
DC have been struggling to find a proper number 4 batter over the last two seasons. Initially, Harry Brook was a part of their plans for IPL 2025. However, the Rs 6.25 crore buy decided to withdraw from the league, resulting in him being handed a 2-year-ban as per the BCCI rules. While the team attempted to field multiple players at that position such as Stubbs, Axar and Karun Nair among others in the past, none of them were able to ace their role in a consistent fashion.
Rizvi has, however, been in a complete different form this year. The fifty against Mumbai Indians marks his second consecutive one in IPL 2026. Before joining the Delhi Capitals, Sameer Rizvi spent a year with the Chennai Super Kings. The 5-time champions paid a whopping Rs 8.4 crore for the UP T20 League star in the mini auction in 2024. He featured only in a handful games, with his first ball six being the only highlight. In 2025, he played 5 matches for Delhi Capitals, scoring 121 runs at a healthy strike rate of 153.16.
| Mat | Runs | Ave | SR | 50s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | 281 | 40.14 | 142.63 | 2 |
Prior to IPL 2026, he signed off the previous season on a high note with an unbeaten 58-run knock off 25 deliveries against Punjab Kings on May 24, 2025. While DC could continue to preserve Rizvi’s energy and use him as impact player in the future, he is all but certain to continue batting at number 4, given his consistency and prowess displayed thus far.
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