Born and brought up in Muvattupuzha, Kerala, Rafi started his career with the I-League U16s at Bengaluru FC, where he impressed many with his qualities. The 21-year-old went on to represent India at the U19 level, where he spent time in Russia and Turkey, while also winning the OFC Youth Development Tournament in Vanuatu in 2019. In that time, Rafi also featured in the SAFF Cup Championship and the AFC Qualifying round with the India U19s, before joining the reserve team at Hyderabad FC in 2020. Rafi was a regular under coach Shameel Chembakath in the reserve team, and impressed enough to earn a call to train with the first team last season. Rafi is now a part of the first team at Hyderabad for the 2023-24 season and will look to break into the Starting XI as the season progresses.