Who is Karim Janat? Gujarat Titans debutant, becoming 10th Afghanistan player to feature in IPL during RR vs GT

Gujarat Titans handed Karim Janat his IPL debut against Rajasthan Royals at the Sawai Mansingh stadium in Jaipur on Monday. The Afghanistan bowling all-rounder is a right arm pacer, who bats in the lower middle order as a right handed batsman.

Amrit Ramakrishnan
Updated28 Apr 2025, 09:25 PM IST
Karim Janat became the 10th player from Afghanistan to play in the Indian Premier League after Gujarat Titans handed him his debut against the Rajasthan Royals on April 28, at the Sawai Mansingh stadium in Jaipur
Karim Janat became the 10th player from Afghanistan to play in the Indian Premier League after Gujarat Titans handed him his debut against the Rajasthan Royals on April 28, at the Sawai Mansingh stadium in Jaipur(REUTERS)

Afghanistan all-rounder Karim Janat became the 10th player from his nation to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) after Gujarat Titans handed the 26-year-old his maiden IPL cap against Rajasthan Royals at the Sawai Mansingh stadium in Jaipur on Monday. He is a right-arm pacer, who bats in the lower middle order as a right-handed batter. He received his maiden cap from compatriot Rashid Khan prior to the match, replacing West Indian Sherfane Rutherford.

Who is Karim Janat? All you need to know

Janat carries with him some serious pace as he is known to bowling upwards of 140 kmph. He is also a useful batter and is known for making handy contributions in the lower middle order. Janat is the younger brother of former Afghanistan skipper Asghar Afghan, who is now retired. Janat was bought by Gujarat Titans for 75 lakhs.

Sensational international debut

The 26-year-old made his debut for Afghanistan in 2016 in a T20 international against the UAE in Dubai. It was a sensational debut for Janat as he bagged the Man of the Match award for his contribution with both the bat and ball.

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He scored 25 (24) in the first innings as Afghanistan registered 161/6 in their 20 overs. He then picked up crucial wickets, ending up with figures of 3/31 from his 4 overs as Afghanistan won by 11 runs.

He then made his ODI debut in 2017 against Zimbabwe in the 4th match of the 5-game series. This debut wasn't as eventful as his T20 one as he ended up wicketless and scored only 9 (33) as Zimbabwe won the rain-curtailed game by 7 wickets.

Also Read | RR vs GT IPL 2025 Head to Head: Have Gujarat won at Sawai Mansingh Stadium?

He made his Test debut in 2023 against Bangladesh. For Afghanistan, the bowling all-rounder has played 2 Tests, 3 ODIs, and 67 T20Is. In the shortest form of the game, Janat has 4 half centuries to his name in those 67 matches and also has a 5-for, which he picked up against the West Indies on November 16, 2019.

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