Dhoni eyes chance of return to top spot in LG ICC Player Rankings

India's Mahendra Singh Dhoni will start his side's upcoming series against the West Indies within touching distance of regaining top spot in the LG ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen.

Dhoni held it briefly after his side's most recent action, the two-match series against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi last month, but was then overtaken by Adam Gilchrist following Australia's three-match clash with Bangladesh.

But despite slipping one place down the table, Dhoni is only three rating points behind Gilchrist and if he maintains his recent high level of performances when he faces Brian Lara's side, that should be enough to return him to the number one position.

For India, a clean sweep of the five-match series that begins at Sabina Park, Jamaica on Thursday will push it ever closer to second place in the LG ICC ODI Championship table.

Rahul Dravid's side is currently third in that table, three rating points behind South Africa after winning 18 of its last 24 matches in this form of the game.

And a 5-0 victory in the series will see it move up to 118 points, just one behind the Proteas and 14 behind runaway leaders Australia.

The West Indies will, of course, have other plans and a 4-1 victory for Lara and his players will allow them to close the gap on seventh-placed England to just eight rating points.

That margin of success for the home team will drop India to fifth in the table below Pakistan and New Zealand, and even a 3-2 success for the West Indies will see India slide to fourth behind Inzamam-ul-Haq's side.

That is the negative scenario for India but one look at the LG ICC Player Rankings suggests they have every reason to be positive about the series.

As well as Dhoni, there are two other Indian batsmen in the top 20 with Dravid in 10th position and Yuvraj Singh one place further back, while Virender Sehwag lies in joint 24th, along with England's Andrew Strauss.

In the bowling list, Irfan Pathan is in second spot, although he is 93 rating points behind leader Shaun Pollock of South Africa, while Harbhajan Singh is 10th. Pathan is also well-placed in the LG ICC Player Rankings for ODI all-rounders, lying third in that table behind Pollock and England's Andrew Flintoff.

The West Indies' highest-placed batsman in the LG ICC Player Rankings is Ramnaresh Sarwan, who is ninth after rising four spots following an excellent series against Zimbabwe.

Below him, Chris Gayle is 14th, former captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul is 26th and Runako Morton, who made 109 in Saturday's rain-ruined match against Zimbabwe in Trinidad, is joint 50th, alongside Lou Vincent of New Zealand.

Brian Lara, who was playing his first ODIs for the West Indies since May 2005 in the matches against Zimbabwe, is in 33rd position.

Gayle is just behind Pathan in the LG ICC Player Rankings for ODI all-rounders, standing in fourth spot in that list, but the West Indies have only one player in the top 20 bowlers, left-armer Ian Bradshaw, in 15th place.

Below Bradshaw, Corey Collymore is 29th while Gayle is 30th and Jerome Taylor, who broke into the top 100 after taking nine wickets in five matches against Zimbabwe, is 93rd in the list.

The schedule for the West Indies - India ODI series is as follows:

18 May - first ODI, Jamaica
20 May - second ODI, Jamaica
23 May - third ODI, St Kitts
26 May - fourth ODI, Trinidad
28 May - fifth ODI, Trinidad

Full details of the current LG ICC ODI Championship and how future results will impact on the table, as well as the LG ICC Player Rankings can be found here