Rankings Shake-Up: Afghanistan Leapfrog England After Sharjah Triumph

Afghanistan's trophy lift in Sharjah has now shown up where it matters most in the record books. The updated ICC men's ODI team rankings have Afghanistan up from eighth to seventh, moving past England — who slide from sixth to eighth after back-to-back defeats to Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi.

Afghanistan gained two rating points for their unbeaten tri-series campaign in the UAE, sealed with a seven-wicket win over Zimbabwe in the final. England lost two points for their winless week, and Sri Lanka benefited from the shuffle to climb to sixth.

How Afghanistan earned the jump

The final told the story of Afghanistan's week. Zimbabwe were bowled out for 169 in Sharjah, with Rashid Khan leading the attack with three wickets and Fazalhaq Farooqi, Mohammad Nabi and Bilal Sami taking two each. Ibrahim Zadran then anchored the chase with an unbeaten 70 off 96 balls — putting on 68 with Rahmanullah Gurbaz (36) and 82 for the third wicket with captain Rahmat Shah (43) — as Afghanistan reached 170 for 3 in 34.3 overs, with 93 balls to spare.

Zadran was named player of the match; Rashid, with 11 wickets across the tournament, was player of the series. The rankings reward is the latest marker of Afghanistan's rise from Associate hopefuls to a side now sitting above a former world champion in the 50-over table.

What it means for England

For England, the slide to eighth caps a miserable tri-series in Pakistan. Defeat to the hosts and then to Sri Lanka — who chased down 430 against them in Rawalpindi — cost them two places in one update. With the tri-series final against Pakistan still to come in Lahore on October 31, there is little immediate chance to win the points back, and the pressure on their 50-over rebuild only grows.

For Afghanistan, the seventh spot is both reward and target: the next sides above them — Sri Lanka in sixth — are now within reach, and every ODI from here carries the weight of a ranking they have never held before.