Early Life

Rizvi began playing cricket at the age of eleven and trained at the Gandhibagh Academy in Meerut, where he was coached by his maternal uncle, Tankeeb Akhtar, who inspired Sameer to take up cricket seriously. Akhtar also faced the wrath of Sameer's father for distracting Sameer from his studies.

In a 2011 Ranji Trophy match between Uttar Pradesh and Saurashtra, Rizvi caught the attention of Uttar Pradesh captain Suresh Raina, who was impressed by the eight-year-old's fielding performance. Raina eventually spotted Rizvi's talent and gave him his sunglasses.

Rizvi played as an opening batsman until the under-16 level, but was persuaded by one of his coaches to play in the middle order after seeing his natural strokeplay against spin bowling. Over the years, he increased his reputation as a hard hitter. He reportedly started his education quite late and did not complete the 10th grade until he was 20 years old.

After his father was diagnosed with a cerebral hemorrhage in 2020, he took on the role of the family's main breadwinner.

Cricket Career

Rizvi made his first-class debut for Uttar Pradesh in the 2019–20 Ranji Trophy on 27 January 2020, at the age of 16. At the age of 20, he gained attention in the UP T20 League. On 11 December 2021, he made his List A debut for Uttar Pradesh in the 2021–22 Vijay Hazare Trophy. In the 2023 UP T20 League, he made headlines in social circles by scoring 455 runs in nine innings, including two centuries (including the fastest century of the tournament, off just 47 deliveries), while playing for Kanpur Superstars. He also raised the bar by being his team's most prolific six-hitter during the competition. His batting skills during the UP T20 League caught the attention of several IPL teams, including Punjab Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Rajasthan Royals, who invited him to trial matches. However, he had to miss the trial matches due to his commitments with the Uttar Pradesh Under-23 team.

In December 2023, he was acquired by the Chennai Super Kings at an auction for the 2024 Indian Premier League tournament for a record price of Rs. 8.40 crore. The following day, his house was swarmed with media reporters, neighbors, and even a local politician from Uttar Pradesh. He became the highest-earning and most expensive non-international player in the 2024 IPL auction.

In December 2024, Sameer Rizvi scored the fastest double century in the U23 State A Trophy.