5 min learnMumbaiApr 2, 2026 03:26 PM IST
Tankeeb Akhtar is a failed cricketer who couldn’t let go of the sport. When he noticed expertise in his younger nephew Sameer Rizvi, whose match-winning 70 not out received Delhi Capitals off to a successful begin within the IPL on Wednesday, he wished the boy to play for India.
Sameer’s father Haseen wished him to cease. “Mat bigaad usey, khud ki tarah mat bana, cricket se kya mila tujhe.” Don’t spoil him. Don’t make him such as you. What did cricket ever offer you?
For years, Tankeeb was not welcome in his sister’s home. He saved coming to the bottom as an alternative — together with his nephew. “If I feel, perhaps there can be barely 14 days prior to now 14 years when Mamu wasn’t with me on the floor,” Sameer would inform this newspaper. The brother-in-law relented when Sameer, at sixteen, made his Ranji Trophy debut for Uttar Pradesh. Haseen had suffered a mind haemorrhage days earlier than it. When Chennai Tremendous Kings paid Rs 8.40 crore for the uncapped boy from Meerut, Tankeeb says his brother-in-law held his hand and wept.
“Itna paisa is umar mein, thoda dar lag raha hai mujhe.” A lot cash at this age. Slightly horrifying. “As a coach my function is over. My job now’s to maintain his toes on the bottom.”
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The toes went first to Chennai. Rizvi’s first IPL camp. A simulation match. After the sport, Dhoni walked as much as him. Not the opposite approach round. “He mentioned everyone seems to be nervous of their first season. However what issues is what stress you’re taking. Recreation ka stress lena hai. State of affairs ka stress lena hai. Viewers ka ya apne price ticket ka — ye stress nahi lena,” Rizvi recalled to News24Sports.
At 8.40 crore, probably the most well-known finisher in cricket was telling a twenty-year-old to neglect the quantity. When Rizvi’s shuffle was inflicting his knee to bend an excessive amount of, Dhoni confirmed him the correction himself.
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At Delhi Capitals, KL Rahul sat Rizvi down for lengthy conversations. The recommendation was: follow tougher than you play, as a result of then matches turn into simple. In T20 cricket, you want pictures in each course. Rizvi practiced. He added the sweep. The swap hit. Pictures for the center overs when spinners function. “Mujhe spinners ko maarna kaafi pasand hai.” The persistence he would present in Lucknow wasn’t passivity. It was preparation.
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Rizvi prays earlier than each match. “Mein namaz padh ke hello match khelne jaata hoon. Thoughts bilkul shaant rehta hai,” he informed News24Sports. He compares it to meditation — the thoughts empties, good ideas arrive, the noise goes quiet. Throughout each IPL seasons, Ramzan fell mid-tournament. He saved the rozas on follow days. On match days the franchise let him handle it his approach.
Sameer Rizvi performed a match-winning knock for Delhi vs Lucknow. (PHOTO: CREIMAS FOR IPL)
On a memorable night in Lucknow, Delhi Capitals have been chasing 142 in opposition to Lucknow Tremendous Giants. Shami received Rahul caught on the primary ball. Nitish Rana fell at slip. Nissanka and Axar went in the identical over. Twenty-six for 4 within the fifth over. The person who had spent hours educating Rizvi these pictures was already within the pavilion. Rizvi walked in at quantity 4. Namaz presumably performed. Thoughts quiet.
For 13 balls, there have been no boundaries. The wicket had motion. Quick bowlers on prime. He spoke to Tristan Stubbs on the different finish. Overs left. No must rush. Then a unfastened supply arrived. He put it away. “Once you’re quiet for the primary 10-12 balls, that one boundary actually helps you agree,” he mentioned after the match. The jail-break second had arrived with a ramp shot for six over third man off a brief pacy ball from Anrich Nortje.
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Seventy off 47 balls and an unbroken 119-run stand with Stubbs arrived because the chase completed with a six at first of the eighteenth over. It was constructed, not blazed. Rizvi absorbed Shami. He waited for the spinners. After they got here, he was prepared — the pictures Rahul had informed him to follow, the calm Dhoni had informed him to seek out, the intent Tankeeb had spent fourteen years constructing. After the match, he was trustworthy. “Consistency is one thing I wish to work on. This was my first innings of the season.”
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His dream is older than his profession. “Mera sapna toh yahi hai ki India khelna hai. Lekin do chaar match nahi. Kaafi lambe samay tak India khelna hai (My dream is to play for India. Not 2-4 matches. For a very long time),” he informed News24Sports. A very long time. Like Virat Kohli? “Haan, keh sakte hain (Sure, you’ll be able to say that).”
4 folks made final night time doable. A mamu who was banned from a home for believing in a boy. A coach in Lucknow who gave that boy a debut at sixteen. A captain in Chennai who informed him to neglect his price ticket. A senior participant in Delhi who mentioned follow each shot. Tankeeb would have watched. Fourteen years on the floor, the boy proved him proper.