Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen commended Delhi Capitals (DC) batter Sameer Rizvi for his composed and impactful innings in the Indian Premier League (IPL), which helped BC secure a victory over Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).
Pietersen, a DC mentor last year, said he was not surprised by Rizvi’s performance after observing him closely last season.
He noted that Rizvi had shown potential earlier despite limited opportunities and praised the young batter for justifying the team’s confidence by performing well under pressure.
“He played the situation beautifully, and I’m not surprised. I spent a lot of time with Sameer last season, watched him closely. He scored a hundred in a warm-up game but, unfortunately, couldn’t find a place in the first half of the tournament. However, when he got his opportunity later in the season, he showed what he was about, and everybody looked up and said, ‘This kid is a proper player, and we probably need to invest in him for a period of time.’ When you invest in a young player, you need that trust that the player can pay you back, and he has done exactly that in this game. He really delivered under pressure. Once you get your team over the line in a big game, especially the first game of the IPL, in a tense situation and a lot of eyeballs on you, not being in the first XI, winning that game makes you feel far better than just scoring a hundred in a high-scoring match,” Pietersen said on JioHotstar.
DC began the 2026 IPL season with a convincing six-wicket win over LSG at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Wednesday. Rizvi remained unbeaten on 70 runs from 47 balls, guiding his team to chase down a target of 142 with six wickets and 17 balls to spare.