Afghanistan are seventh in the ODI rankings again, and England’s two defeats in Rawalpindi put them eighth
Three straight wins in the UAE have lifted Afghanistan one rating point above England, who lost to Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the same week.
Oct 25, 2026
Afghanistan have moved above England in the ICC men’s ODI team rankings. The update published on 24 October has them seventh on a rating of 94, one point ahead of England, who have dropped from sixth to eighth.
Seventh equals the best ranking Afghanistan have held. They first got there in May 2025.
Three wins in the UAE, two defeats in Rawalpindi
Afghanistan’s two points came from the UAE tri-series, which they won without losing a game. They beat Zimbabwe by 158 runs in Abu Dhabi and Bangladesh by seven wickets, then bowled Zimbabwe out for 169 in the final and won that by seven wickets too. Rashid Khan was player of the series with 11 wickets.
England lost two points over the same week in Pakistan. Pakistan beat them by 87 runs in Rawalpindi on 20 October. Two days later Harry Brook made 202, the first ODI double hundred by an England batter, and England still lost, because Sri Lanka chased 430 with a ball to spare.
That chase also helped Sri Lanka, who are now sixth on 95. So three sides sit within two rating points of each other: Sri Lanka on 95, Afghanistan on 94 and England on 93.
The top of the table
India are still well clear at the top on 115. New Zealand are second on 109, followed by South Africa on 104, Pakistan on 103 and Australia on 102. India and New Zealand are in the middle of a T20I series at the moment, and the five ODIs between the top two sides start at Eden Park in Auckland on 4 November.
Further down, Bangladesh lost two points after failing to win a game in the UAE but stay ninth on 81. Zimbabwe gained two for reaching the final and are 11th on 63, with West Indies between them in tenth on 79.
It changes nothing for the World Cup
The direct places at the 2027 ODI World Cup were decided by the rankings on 30 September. The top eight teams on that date, not counting co-hosts South Africa and Zimbabwe, went straight through. Afghanistan and England were both inside that group, and West Indies and Ireland were left to play the Qualifier.
So nothing rides on this one except pride, and I wouldn’t wave that away. England won the World Cup in 2019, and they are now ranked below a side that only became a Full Member in 2017. Afghanistan got there by winning three in a row while England lost two. England can go back above them in Lahore, but only by winning.
England have two more group games in the tri-series, both in Lahore: Pakistan on Sunday and Sri Lanka on 29 October. The final is on 31 October.