Before the start of the IPL 2024 season, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) title defense has taken a major hit. Their experienced opener and top-scorer from the last season, Devon Conway, is potentially out until the start of May. With others like Shivam Dube also uncertain, the 5-time champions could turn to a talented youngster in Sameer Rizvi.
The 20-year-old was picked up by the franchise for a whopping Rs 8.4 crore at the auction last year. The price tag attached to him shows that CSK clearly has faith in him and his talent. Just a couple of weeks before the start of the 2024 edition, the right-handed batter has shown his skills by notching up an incredible 89 against Mumbai in the CK Nayudu Trophy.
Although primarily judged as a T20 batter, the youngster has shown his class in red-ball cricket as well. After a poor run of form in the Ranji Trophy 2024, where he managed to score just 79 runs at 15.8, Sameer Rizvi has come good for Uttar Pradesh in the semifinals of the CK Nayudu Trophy.
So far in the event, he has scored 553 runs in just 4 matches at 92.17 and an incredibly fast strike rate of 103.75. His 89-run knock may not have won his side the match yet, but it has given them an upper hand.
With Devon Conway out, CSK has to make sure their batting order remains strong and steady. While they can move Rachin Ravindra and Ajinkya Rahane up the order to cover for Conway’s absence, that’ll make their middle-order weak. This is where Rizvi comes in.
The versatile batter can bat in the middle order and is known to pack a punch. The 20-year-old can bat from 3 to 6 and add more flexibility to the batting lineup.
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