'DHONI BHAI TOLD ME NOT TO...' - CHENNAI SUPER KINGS' PACER SAMEER RIZVI

CHENNAI: Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) Sameer Rizvi announced his arrival in IPL in spectacular fashion. Facing Gujarat Titans’ Rashid Khan in the first ball of his IPL journey, Rizvi showed nerves of steel and swept the Afghan ace for a six over square-leg. And two deliveries later, he once again slammed Rashid for a maximum, this time over long-off.

The 20-year-old’s cameo of 14 from six balls at Chepauk on Tuesday created a buzz. CSK, a franchise known for reviving the careers of experienced campaigners, splurged Rs 8.4 crore on a young, uncapped Rizvi and surprisingly put him in the playing squad straightaway.

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Rizvi made his IPL debut in the opener against Royal Challengers Bengaluru but didn’t get the opportunity to bat. The high price tag brings along with it huge expectations. Rizvi said his ‘idol’ MS Dhoni had a chat with him about dealing with the price tag.

“The price tag does not put pressure on me, it’s just how I perform and score. MS bhai has told me to focus on my performance as the price tag is different for everyone. Some have more than you and some less. The main thing is how you perform and how you deal with pressure. He told me to just play my natural game,” said Rizvi.

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The Uttar Pradesh batter, who desires to become a finisher like Dhoni, had a dream-come-true moment when he joined CSK.

“It was a very nice feeling to be picked by CSK. It was my dream to meet and play with (MS) bhaiya. Apart from that, I 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 liked that. One more thing that I like most about this team is everyone backs one another, all of them are very helpful,” said Rizvi.

The hard-hitting batter Rizvi’s ability to effectively counter spin attacks would have lured CSK to send him ahead of their designated finishers Ravindra Jadeja and Dhoni against Gujarat on Tuesday.

“When Rashid came to bowl in the 19th over, the coach (Stephen Fleming) told me if the wicket falls, you’ll go out to bat. After that, it was set in my mind that it was the 19th over and if they are sending me at this point of the match, I am 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,” said Rizvi.