London, Jan 11: England captain Alastair Cook has urged his players to cement their number one status in the ICC ODI rankings with a series win against India, starting today in Rajkot.

Cook said England would be recognized as the undisputed champions of fifty-over format only after a series win against India, the Daily Mirror reports.

Technically England is world''s best one-day side albeit by a fraction from South Africa who drew 2-2 with them in the summer.

 Those two matches were the only defeats of 2012 as England romped home against Pakistan in the UAE and thrashed both the Windies and Australia at home.

Despite such strong home form though, it was only just over a year ago that England were humbled 5-0 in a one day series back in India and that is why Cook knows his side has plenty still to prove.

Cook said it was a pleasant surprise for the team to reach the summit of ODI rankings so soon, but the captain added his team deserved the top status after they had won 80 percent of their fifty-over games last year.

Cook further said he didn't feel like the team was number one since there was lots of development still left to be made, adding a series win against India would convince him of their top dog status in ODI rankings.

The left handed batsman also added that to win against a world class India team, they would have to play out of their skin.

England are missing four senior players for this trip, but there is still plenty of quality and experience out here and if they have designs on not only holding onto their ranking, but winning a global trophy this year, this is a challenge to be overcome. (ANI)