Mahendra Singh Dhoni is a role model for a lot of budding cricketers in the world. He is widely known for his leadership skills and his ability to play the game under pressure. His helicopter shot is replicated by many of today’s batters. However, everyone was surprised when it was revealed that young sensation Sameer Rizvi, who was bought by the Chennai Super Kings, admires Rohit Sharma as his role model.
Sameer Rizvi is a 20-year-old batter from Uttar Pradesh who made headlines after he was bought for a massive sum of 8.40 crores by Chennai Super Kings. Rizvi became the most expensive uncapped player in this year’s IPL. He is a power hitter who has the record of scoring the fastest hundred in the UP20 League. Sameer Rizvi was only 16 years old when he made his Ranji debut. He was handed his first-class cap by former India cricketer Sunil Joshi.
In a recent interview with Sameer Rizvi’s maternal uncle Tankeeb Akhtar, he revealed that Sameer really admires Indian skipper Rohit Sharma and has always considered him to be his role model. Tankeeb said that Sameer thinks he bats like Rohit Sharma and used to always annoy him by asking if his pull shots are like Rohit or not.
After Sameer Rizvi was picked by CSK, the franchise shared a video on Instagram wherein, Sameer mentioned MS Dhoni as his role model.
Watch the video below:
However, in a recent interview with Sameer Rizvi’s maternal uncle Tankeeb Akhtar, he revealed that Sameer really admires Indian skipper Rohit Sharma and has always considered him to be his role model. Tankeeb said that Sameer thinks he bats like Rohit Sharma and used to always annoy him by asking if his pull shots are like Rohit or not.
“Rohit Sharma is his role model. Rohit’s effortless batting has made him his fan. He used to annoy me by asking questions about whether his pull shot looked like Rohit or not. There is no similarity but he thinks that he bats like Rohit,” says Tankeeb.
Sameer Rizvi Will Be Playing Against His Idol In The IPL
Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians have a historical rivalry in the IPL. The two most successful teams in the IPL have always been rivals and it will be an honour for Sameer Rizvi to be facing his role model in the IPL. Rohit Sharma will not be leading his side this season as Mumbai Indians have announced Hardik Pandya as their new skipper for this season.
The IPL auctions changed a lot of fortunes overnight and Sameer Rizvi was one of them. It was a proud moment for his maternal uncle Tankeeb Akhtar who always supported his nephew in the journey. Chennai Super Kings is the defending champions and the joint-most successful team in the league with five IPL trophies to their name. Getting to play for a team like CSK must be a moment of immense pride for Rizvi and he will try to capitalize on every opportunity that comes his way.
Sameer Rizvi has played 11 T20 matches in his career where he boasts an average of 49.2 scoring 295 runs at a strike rate of 134.7. A player like him can actually fill in for Ambati Rayudu who retired from the IPL after IPL 2023 finals. He is a power hitter and can strike the ball well. It will be interesting to see how Sameer Rizvi performs in his maiden IPL season. He can learn a lot under the guidance of MS Dhoni and the coaching staff of Chennai Super Kings.
