Afghanistan have moved above England in the latest ICC Men's ODI Team Rankings, climbing from eighth to seventh after their win over Zimbabwe in the UAE tri-series final at Sharjah. The result gains Afghanistan two rating points, taking them to 94, one ahead of England's 93.
England's slide is the other half of the story. Already reeling from a heavy defeat to Pakistan and a loss to Sri Lanka in their own tri-series in Rawalpindi, England dropped two points and fell to eighth, directly swapping places with Afghanistan in the rankings table. Sri Lanka sit just above both sides in sixth, on 95 points, meaning Afghanistan are now only one point off climbing higher still.
Afghanistan previously touched seventh in the rankings in May 2025, so this is a return to a milestone rather than an outright first. It is still a significant marker for a side that has built its white-ball reputation on spin depth and knockout-stage upsets rather than consistent top-table rankings points, and it comes in the same week the team completed a tri-series campaign built on contributions across the batting and bowling unit.
Rashid Khan was named player of the series for his bowling across the tri-series, while Ibrahim Zadran picked up player of the match in the final itself, as Afghanistan's attack bowled Zimbabwe out well short of a competitive total in the title decider.
Rankings points don't translate directly into fantasy value, but the broader signal is relevant: a top-seven ODI side with Rashid Khan fit and in form is a tougher assignment for any team building their squad around containing Afghanistan's middle overs, and England's slide to eighth adds pressure heading into their next ODI assignments.
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Ranking points and placements in this article are verified against same-day and freshly re-checked sources as of October 25, 2026.
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