West Indies and Afghanistan will play a three-match T20I series in Dubai in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup. Here are the ICC men's T20I team rankings ahead of the AFG vs WI series.
Afghanistan and the West Indies are set to play three T20Is, on January 19, 21 and 22, respectively, at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Both sides are preparing for the T20 World Cup, set to start on February 7, in India and Sri Lanka. This series is the Asian side’s last chance to address any shortcomings on the field, while the West Indies also have a South Africa tour scheduled.
The Caribbean side are also missing some of their regular T20 stars, some of whom are playing in SA20 2026, while others as part of workload management. Brandon King has been named captain in Shai Hope’s absence.
Afghanistan, meanwhile, have a full-strength squad led by Rashid Khan, with all of their global T20 stars returning from their franchise commitments. They suffered a late injury blow after Naveen-ul-Haq was ruled out of the West Indies series and World Cup due to a stress fracture in his shoulder, with Ziaur Rahman Sharifi being named as his replacement.
1st T20I, Afghanistan vs West Indies
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ICC men's T20I team rankings ahead of AFG vs WI T20I series
There are six more T20I series scheduled before the World Cup as teams make final adjustments ahead of the ICC event. India and New Zealand are set to play five T20Is, while Ireland and Italy have a three-match series scheduled in the UAE.
West Indies will tour South Africa for three T20Is, whereas Australia will stop in Pakistan for a three-T20I series before carrying on to India and Sri Lanka. Ireland, meanwhile, will play three matches against the UAE as well, with England visiting Sri Lanka for the last T20I series before the World Cup’s commencement.
Ahead of their three-T20I series, West Indies are sixth on the men’s team table with a rating of 236, whereas Afghanistan are tenth with 220.
| Position | Team | Matches | Points | Rating |
| 1 | India | 71 | 19312 | 272 |
| 2 | Australia | 42 | 11199 | 267 |
| 3 | England | 45 | 11609 | 258 |
| 4 | New Zealand | 53 | 13318 | 251 |
| 5 | South Africa | 53 | 12739 | 240 |
| 6 | West Indies | 61 | 14424 | 236 |
| 7 | Pakistan | 75 | 17604 | 235 |
| 8 | Sri Lanka | 50 | 11422 | 228 |
| 9 | Bangladesh | 67 | 14925 | 223 |
| 10 | Afghanistan | 45 | 9895 | 220 |
| 11 | Ireland | 37 | 7438 | 201 |
| 12 | Zimbabwe | 66 | 13190 | 200 |
| 13 | Netherlands | 35 | 6366 | 182 |
| 14 | Scotland | 23 | 4178 | 182 |
| 15 | Namibia | 35 | 6344 | 181 |
| 16 | UAE | 60 | 10584 | 176 |
| 17 | Nepal | 42 | 7384 | 176 |
| 18 | USA | 33 | 5769 | 175 |
| 19 | Canada | 35 | 5374 | 154 |
| 20 | Oman | 47 | 7140 | 152 |
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