Afghanistan has taken giant strides in international cricket in the last couple of years. It was evident yet another time as they defeated minnows Ireland by a 2- margin in the three-match T20I series. Afghanistan won the first couple of matches to seal the series. The last match was abandoned due to persistent rain.
For Afghanistan and it’s players there was a significant rise in the Latest ICC Rankings. Hazratullah Zazai was the top scorer for Afghanistan in the series smashing 156 runs in just a couple of matches. His heroics with the bat in both the matches helped him achieve his career-best ratings. He has currently 514 points and is placed 39th in the Latest ICC Rankings.
Despite a poor show with the bat, wicket-keeper batsman Mohammad Shehzad continues to be their top-ranked batsman in the ICC Rankings. He is currently in the 13th position. Samiullah Shenwati and Shafiqullah Shafi had an indifferent series which made them slip by five and four places respectively.
Rashid Khan continues to be the leader of the pack for Afghanistan
Leg-spinner Rashid Khan continues to rule the bowling chart in the shortest format. He bagged 8 wickets in 2 matches and made a difference of 70 rating points with the 2nd ranked bowler Shadab Khan. Mujeeb-ur-Rahman also made a significant rise by 25 places. He is currently the 38th ranked T20I bowler in the world.
All-rounder Mohammed Nabi slipped to the 11th position in the rankings for bowlers. He bagged just a couple of wickets in the series which didn’t really help his rating points. Meanwhile, Hamza Hotak also went down by seven places after having a relatively poor couple of matches with the bat.
Afghanistan continues to be in the 8th position in the Latest ICC Rankings for teams. They currently have 92 rating points. The biggest plus for them is that they are ahead of more established teams like Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Meanwhile, Ireland also continues to be in the 17th position in the Latest ICC T20I Rankings.
Here are the latest T20I rankings:
Teams
| Pos | Team | Points |
| 1 | Pakistan | 132 |
| 2 | India | 124 |
| 3 | Australia | 122 |
| 4 | England | 117 |
| 5 | New Zealand | 116 |
| 6 | South Africa | 110 |
| 7 | West Indies | 106 |
| 8 | Afghanistan | 92 |
| 9 | Sri Lanka | 88 |
| 10 | Bangladesh | 77 |
| 17 | Ireland | 34 |
Batsmen
| Pos | Player | Country | Rating points |
| 1 | Aaron Finch | AUS | 891 |
| 2 | Fakhar Zaman | PAK | 842 |
| 3 | Lokesh Rahul | IND | 812 |
| 4 | Colin Munro | NZ | 801 |
| 5 | Babar Azam | PAK | 765 |
| 13 | Mohammad Shahzad | AFG | 647 |
| 39 | Hazratullah Zazai | AFG | 514 |
Bowlers
| Pos | Player | Country | Rating points |
| 1 | Rashid Khan | AFG | 793 |
| 2 | Shadab Khan | PAK | 723 |
| 3 | Ish Sodhi | NZ | 700 |
| 4 | Yuzvendra Chahal | IND | 685 |
| 5 | Mitchell Santner | NZ | 665 |
| 11 | Mohammad Nabi | AFG | 630 |
All-Rounders
| Pos | Player | Country | Rating points |
| 1 | Glenn Maxwell | AUS | 366 |
| 2 | Mohammad Nabi | AFG | 313 |
| 3 | Shakib Al Hasan | BAN | 310 |
| 4 | JP Duminy | SA | 234 |
| 5 | Marlon Samuels | WI | 222 |
| 8 | Paul Stirling | IRE | 208 |
| 13 | Kevin O’Brien | IRE | 156 |
