India can jump two places to fourth in the LG ICC ODI Championship if it completes a clean sweep of ODI victories over Ireland, South Africa and Pakistan over the next two weeks or so.
Currently lying in sixth, Rahul Dravid's side will leap-frog Sri Lanka and Pakistan if it wins each of its five matches during the tour of Ireland and Scotland. That would put it on 111 rating points, just two behind New Zealand in third position and one ahead of Pakistan, who would drop to 110 rating points.
However, a poor series for India could see it drop below England into seventh position, which would be the lowest it has been in the ODI Championship since April 2005.
With just 14 rating points separating the Black Caps in third position and the West Indies in eighth, there are opportunities coming up for several other teams to make their impression on the LG ICC ODI Championship.
The West Indies will overtake its English host if it wins 2-0 or 3-0 while England will have its sights set on sixth spot with a good showing there. Indeed, England has an opportunity of rising further still as it is set to play seven ODIs against India in August and September.
Australia still tops the log, six rating points clear of South Africa in second spot but Jacques Kallis's men can reduce that gap to four by beating Ireland once and India three times in Belfast.
If the Irish can pull off victories at home to India and South Africa, it will gain 14 rating points, putting real pressure on Bangladesh in ninth spot.
And Scotland can follow in Ireland's footsteps and win promotion to the main LG ICC ODI Championship table if it beats Pakistan in Edinburgh on 1 July. Currently, top of the Associates ODI table, Ryan Watson's side has a win percentage in excess of 60 per cent and thus by the regulations of the rankings will graduate to the main table if it beats a Full Member.
The full Associates ODI rankings are available at: http://www.icc-cricket.com/icc/odi/associates.html.
Meanwhile, in his first series as vice-captain of India Mahendra Singh Dhoni will want to keep up his recent run of fine form, and a good showing in the trip to Belfast and Glasgow would put him ahead of Mike Hussey and into third spot in the LG ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen.
There is also the chance for Kallis to get back into the top ten while there will also be opportunities for the likes of Herschelle Gibbs, AB de Villiers, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Chris Gayle and Rahul Dravid to make further advances in the top 20.
De Villiers of South Africa is now ranked in 18th position, having been 77th just one year ago so he will want to make sure that trend continues while his absent captain Graeme Smith will not have the chance to improve on his position of seventh as he is still recovering from knee surgery.
Ireland's top ranked batsman is Kevin O'Brien in 82nd spot and the ODIs against India and South Africa will give him the chance to improve further on that. Top spot is still occupied by Kevin Pietersen of England with Australia's Ricky Ponting in second.
After a relatively disappointing ICC Cricket World Cup for Makhaya Ntini, which saw him drop from third to seventh in the LG ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers, the 29-year-old will be looking for a return to his former successes.
Ntini's team-mates Andre Nel and Andrew Hall are with him in the top 12 and will lead what looks like a strong South African bowling attack.
For India, the cupboard is somewhat barer, their top rated bowler in the series is the talented Ajit Agarkar in 16th position. It is a chance for upcoming Indian bowlers to make their impression.
South Africa's Shaun Pollock is still top of the bowling rankings but he is not making the trip to Ireland as he is still recovering from minor foot surgery. He recently played as a specialist batsman in the Afro-Asian Cup series in India. With none of the top six ODI bowlers in action over the coming weeks, however, Pollock's position at the top is safe for now.
