Dhoni, Ponting unveil Future Cup

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his Australian counterpart Ricky Ponting unveiled the 'Future Cup', the symbol of supremacy in the seven-match One-Day International series, beginning in Bangalore on Saturday.

Future Retail CEO Rakesh Biyani and Karnataka State Cricket Association president Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar were among those present at the unveiling function in Bangalore on Friday.

The Future Group has the title rights for the series and will be associated with the development, branding and promotion it.

Kochi will host the second ODI on October 2, followed by Hyderabad (Oct 5), Chandigarh (Oct 8), Vadodara (Oct 11), Nagpur (Oct 14) and Mumbai (Oct 17).

Australia, which regained its number one ranking from South Africa during the ICC World Cup in the West Indies, could drop as low as third in the LG ICC ODI table if recently-crowned World Twenty20 champions India sweep the series.

If that happens, India, currently on 108 points, could gain 10 points to 118 and in the process leapfrog Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Pakistan to second, with Australia dropping from 129 to 116.

A 6-1 or 5-2 series victory for Dhoni in his first series as India's ODI captain would mean Australia losing top position to South Africa while India would move to third place in a congested table in which just nine ratings points separate third and seventh positions.

A 4-3 win would lift India to fifth while Australia would be left on the same mark as South Africa, 124 points, but would retain top spot when the ratings are calculated to three decimal places.

However, the other side of the story is that if Australia sweeps the series, India will fall as low as seventh. A 6-1 or 5-2 series win for Australia would result in India maintaining sixth place with Australia extending its advantage over South Africa.