DC youngster blind ranks MS Dhoni, AB de Villiers among other T20 finishers post IPL 2025

Delhi Capitals (DC) batter Sameer Rizvi performed the challenging task of ranking between six great T20 finishers. MS Dhoni, AB de Villiers, Michael Hussey, Jos Buttler, Kieron Pollard, and Michael Bevan were the contenders.

In a 'blind reveal' challenge during an interview with Crictracker, Rizvi ranked his former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) teammate MS Dhoni as No. 1. West Indian big-hitter Kieron Pollard followed in the second position, and former South African captain AB de Villiers came in at No. 3.

Rizvi had Michael Hussey in the fourth spot, followed by Buttler and Bevan at No. 5 and 6.

The DC youngster also revealed his top five T20 batters, with a few names different from the six mentioned above. While Dhoni was atop Rizvi's list, his current DC teammate, Tristan Stubbs, came in at No. 2.

The duo was followed by Andre Russell, Glenn Maxwell, and Travis Head at No. 3,4, and 5. Rizvi also included Stubbs as one of his two favorite batting partners, with KL Rahul being the other.

"Take deep breaths for 5–6 seconds" - DC's Sameer Rizvi on the best advice from MS Dhoni

Sameer Rizvi said MS Dhoni's best advice to him when he was with CSK dealt with handling high-pressure situations. The 21-year-old debuted in the IPL with CSK in 2024, playing eight matches.

Despite scoring only 51 runs at an average of 12.75, Rizvi had the experience of playing with Dhoni and spending time with the legendary wicketkeeper off the field.

"He has always supported me off the field, especially on the mental side. He always tells us to stay calm in high-pressure situations and take deep breaths for 5–6 seconds, which will help us relax and think in a better way," said Rizvi (via the aforementioned source).

CSK did not retain Rizvi ahead of the 2025 IPL mega auction, and the youngster shifted to DC, who picked him up at ₹95 Lakh. He played only five games in IPL 2025, scoring 121 runs at an average of over 40 and a strike rate of 153.16.