Shuffling of the pack on the cards
Shuffling of the pack could be on the cards in the Reliance ICC ODI Championship table when three of the four top ranked sides go head to head in the three-nation tournament which starts in Melbourne on Sunday.
Incidentally, the tri-series format returns to Australia for the first time in four years, with the same three sides-Australia, India and Sri Lanka - participating as in its last edition in 2008.
Number-one ranked and four-time former world champion Australia sits pretty on 130 ratings points, leading second-ranked current world champion India by 14 ratings points with fourth-ranked 1996 world champion Sri Lanka another five ratings points behind.
And as the rankings system is weighted to reflect this difference, Sri Lanka could earn significant number of points if it is successful in the series. In contrast, Australia and India can lose points if they don't win bulk of their matches.
To explain further, if Australia beats India in the opener on Sunday, it will earn one ratings point while India will drop one ratings point. However, if the result is reversed, then Australia will lose two ratings points whereas India will gain one ratings point.
Similarly, if India loses to Australia and then to Sri Lanka, Australia will rise to 131 ratings points and Sri Lanka will move to 113 ratings points whereas India will slip to third position at 115 ratings points.
On the other hand, if India lives up to its reputation of being world champions and manages to win all its matches, it could go up on the table.
With a maximum of 15 matches to be played in the series with each side guaranteed at least eight matches, there will be regular changes on the Championship table with the final shape of the table only emerging after 8 March when the series in Australia ends. By that time, Pakistan-England and New Zealand-South Africa ODI series would have also finished.
To find out exactly how Australia-India-Sri Lanka series will affect the Championship table, please click here. The ODI Championship table, unlike the Test Championship table, is updated after every match.
Meanwhile, in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen, India's Virat Kohli will start off as the highest-ranked batsman in the series in third place.
Kohli, who showed good form in the Test series against Australia when he ended up as his side's leading run-getter with 300 runs, trails South Africa's ODI captain AB De Villiers (at second place) by 45 ratings points while Hashim Amla sits on top, another 26 rating points ahead. Amla and de Villiers will feature in the three-match ODI series in New Zealand from 25 February to 3 March.
The other batsmen in the series inside the top10 include India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (sixth), Kumar Sangakkara (seventh), Mike Hussey (eighth) and Michael Clarke (ninth). And depending on how these batsmen perform over the next few weeks, there could be changes in the top-half of the batting chart.
In the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers, Sri Lanka's Lasith Malinga is the highest-ranked bowler in the series in 10th position. India's Ravindra Jadeja and Brett Lee of Australia are the highest-ranked bowlers of their sides in 13th and 15th positions, respectively.
Forthcoming ODIs:
New Zealand v Zimbabwe in New Zealand
6 Feb - New Zealand v Zimbabwe, second ODI, Whangarei
9 Feb - New Zealand v Zimbabwe, third ODI, Napier
Three-nation series in Australia
5 Feb - Australia v India (d/n), Melbourne
8 Feb - India v Sri Lanka (d/n), Perth
10 Feb - Australia v Sri Lanka (d/n), Perth
12 Feb - Australia v India (d/n), Adelaide
14 Feb - India v Sri Lanka (d/n), Adelaide
17 Feb - Australia, Sri Lanka (d/n), Sydney
19 Feb - Australia v India (d/n), Brisbane
21 Feb - India v Sri Lanka (d/n), Brisbane
24 Feb - Australia v Sri Lanka (d/n), Hobart
26 Feb - Australia v India (d/n), Sydney
28 Feb - India v Sri Lanka (d/n), Hobart
2 March - Australia v Sri Lanka (d/n), Melbourne
4 March - First final (d/n), Brisbane
6 March - Second final (d/n), Adelaide
8 March - Third final (d/n), Adelaide (if required)
