INDIA target a third World Cup triumph when the country hosts cricket's seven-week global showpiece, buoyed by an economic boom and growing, international self-confidence.
India shared hosting with Pakistan in 1987, then Pakistan and Sri Lanka in 1996 before another three-way split with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in 2011.
This time India goes it alone with 48 matches being played over 46 days at 10 venues.
However, the build-up has been far from smooth after arch-rivals Pakistan reportedly considered a boycott when India refused to travel across the border for the Asia Cup.
As a result, the announcement of the schedule for the World Cup was delayed until just three months before the first ball was to be bowled.
Fears over security for the India-Pakistan blockbuster clash in Ahmedabad then saw the match moved back a day, sparking a domino effect of nine rescheduled fixtures.
Pakistan's visit to India will be their first since the 2016 Twenty20 World Cup.
The opening match on October 5, between champions England and New Zealand, as well as the final on November 19 are being staged at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi stadium, named after the prime minister, the world's biggest cricket arena boasting a capacity of over 130,000.
India will face Pakistan at the mega-venue on October 14.
The city which independence hero Mahatma Gandhi called home for 15 years is tipped as a potential host city should India bid for the 2036 Olympics.
The gathering of the best players of India's favourite game will be the sporting culmination of a year that saw India overtake China as the world's most populous country, after displacing former coloniser Britain as its fifth-biggest economy in 2021.
Modi's global stage?
Now Modi is seeking a place on the global stage to match.
Courted by the West as a bulwark against Beijing, the prime minister used the G20 summit he hosted this month as a catalyst to position New Delhi as a representative of many others outside traditional power blocs.
His Bharatiya Janata Party is widely regarded as a certainty to win next year's general election by a crushing majority.
India are two-time champions having added the 2011 title on home soil to their 1983 triumph, a Kapil Dev-inspired breakthrough performance.
They boast superstar Virat Kohli who has made more than 13,000 runs in the ODI format.
Second on the current active list is skipper Rohit Sharma with just over 10,000.
Fiery seamer Mohammed Siraj recently became the world's top ranked ODI bowler while Kuldeep Yadav is likely to thrive with his leg-spinning box of tricks.
'Create new memories'
"The memories of past World Cup victories, especially the iconic 2011 win, are etched in our hearts, and we want to create new memories for our fans," said Kohli who featured in the 2011 victory.
Pakistan, the 1992 champions, have lost seven times out of seven to India at past World Cups.
Pakistan's captain Babar Azam (Photo by WILLIAM WEST/AFP via Getty Images)
However, skipper Babar Azam will be key to turning around that run as he leads the way in the batting rankings. His average of more than 58 betters even that of Kohli.
Despite the loss of fast bowler Naseem Shah to injury, Pakistan can call on Shaheen Shah Afridi, the sport's most imposing opening quick bowler.
Still just 23, Afridi has 86 ODI wickets at a meagre average of 23.36.
Defending champions England, who triumphed in a nail-biting 2019 final against New Zealand at Lord's, can harness the destructive firepower of Ben Stokes who smashed 84 in that game which went to a Super Over conclusion.
In the build-up to the World Cup, Stokes struck the highest score by an England batsman in an ODI, his 182 setting up a thrashing of New Zealand at The Oval earlier this month.
Trent Boult of New Zealand (Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
The tournament will likely see the farewell ODI performances of Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib al Hasan and Kiwi opening bowlers Trent Boult and Tim Southee.
Shakib is the top-ranked all-rounder in ODI cricket.
The 36-year-old has made more than 7,000 runs in the format with 55 half-centuries and 308 wickets.
Southee and Boult, both 34, have claimed a combined 409 wickets in the format.
Australia are five-time champions, comfortably the most successful nation at the World Cup, but preparations were hit when opener Travis Head fractured his hand.
However, they still boast veteran run-getter David Warner who has amassed over 6,300 ODI runs.
South Africa, who have endured a roller-coaster relationship with the World Cup, undone by rain rules in 1992 and 2003, have also been hit by injuries, losing key pacers Anrich Nortje and Sisanda Magala.
For Afghanistan, slow bowlers Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who made his international debut at 16, and Noor Ahmad will be key on welcoming Indian pitches.
Sri Lanka, the 1996 winners, will be fired up by the indignity of being bowled out for just 50 and losing the Asia Cup final to India by 10 wickets.
Matheesha Pathirana, just 20, and thriving in his role as a 2023 version of Lasith Malinga with his deceptive, slingy action, is likely to be Sri Lanka's go-to fast bowling surprise.
Netherlands complete the line-up and are match-tough after negotiating the qualifying round in July where two-time champions West Indies crashed out.
(AFP)
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Anurag Bajpayee's Gradiant: The water company tackling a global crisis
In a world increasingly defined by scarcity, one resource is emerging as the most quietly decisive factor in the future of industry, sustainability, and even geopolitics: water. Yet, while the headlines are dominated by energy transition and climate pledges, few companies working behind the scenes on water issues have attracted much public attention. One of them is Gradiant, a Boston-based firm that has, over the past decade, grown into a key player in the underappreciated but critical sector of industrial water treatment.
A Company Born from MIT, and from Urgency
Founded in 2013 by Anurag Bajpayee and Prakash Govindan, two researchers with strong ties to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Gradiant began as a scrappy start-up with a deceptively simple premise: make water work harder. At a time when discussions about climate change were centred almost exclusively on carbon emissions and renewable energy, the trio saw water scarcity looming in the background.
Their insight was that some of the world’s largest industries—semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, food and beverage—were facing acute water-related challenges long before the general public grasped the issue. “Without water, these industries don’t just slow down; they stop,” Bajpayee has often remarked. What Gradiant offered was not just a way to save water, but a way to rethink how it is used, recycled, and valued.
The Engineers Behind the Mission
Anurag Bajpayee, the company’s CEO, whose academic path took him to MIT, where he completed a PhD in Mechanical Engineering focused on water treatment technologies. It was there that he met Govindan, a fellow engineer and now Gradiant's co-founder and COO, whose expertise complemented his in fluid mechanics and process engineering.
Unlike many founders who drift towards the language of venture capital and corporate strategy, Anurag Bajpayee and his team remained grounded in the technical problem: how to make industrial water treatment more efficient, more affordable, and more sustainable. The company still bears the imprint of its founders’ engineering roots. Gradiant is less Silicon Valley startup and more MIT lab, albeit one that has quietly expanded across Asia, the Middle East, Europe and North America.
What Gradiant Actually Does
The company specializes in designing and building bespoke water treatment and reuse systems for industrial clients. Its technologies are aimed at enabling factories and plants to reclaim water that would otherwise be discarded as waste, reducing both the amount of water withdrawn from natural sources and the volume of contaminated water discharged.
At the heart of Gradiant’s portfolio are proprietary technologies such as Counter Flow Reverse Osmosis (CFRO), Carrier Gas Extraction (CGE) and Selective Ion Recovery (SIR), developed from the Gradiant founders’ early research at MIT. Unlike traditional methods like reverse osmosis, these systems are designed to handle highly contaminated or complex wastewater streams, enabling clients to extract clean water even from previously unusable sources.
But Gradiant does not sell “one-size-fits-all” machines. Each project is tailored to the customer’s unique needs. For a semiconductor plant in Singapore, this might mean achieving ultrapure water reuse levels of 98%; for a food and beverage factory in Texas, it might be about safely treating wastewater for discharge while minimising energy consumption. The company's approach—sometimes called "solutioneering" internally—is both its competitive advantage and its raison d'être.
Expansion Without the Usual Hype
Gradiant’s growth has been quietly impressive. From its first commercial project in the oil and gas sector, it has gone on to complete over 500 installations worldwide. The company has raised more than $400 million in funding from a mix of institutional investors and private equity firms, achieving so-called “unicorn” status, with a valuation reportedly over $1 billion.
Unlike many green tech firms, Gradiant’s expansion has not been accompanied by flashy marketing campaigns or grandiose statements. Instead, the company has preferred to build credibility client by client, particularly in Asia, where water-intensive industries and growing environmental pressures make its services indispensable. Anurag Bajpayee, never one to speak in superlatives, frames the company’s expansion as a “response to urgent need” rather than a triumph of business.
Inside Gradiant’s Operations
At its core, Gradiant is still an engineering-first company. Anurag Bajpayee and Govindan, both technically trained and heavily involved in the company’s operations, have instilled a culture where R&D is not just a department but the lifeblood of the business. The firm currently holds more than 250 patents globally, a testament to its ongoing commitment to innovation.
But Gradiant’s success is not just about technology. The company has differentiated itself by offering not just equipment but full-service solutions, including project design, construction, operations, and maintenance. This full-stack approach has been particularly attractive to clients in highly regulated industries, who need water management solutions that work seamlessly and reliably without requiring deep in-house expertise.
Gradiant’s clients include some of the world’s largest manufacturers, including Fortune 500 companies in sectors like microelectronics, pharmaceuticals, and energy. Some, like semiconductor producers, rely on Gradiant to help them meet stringent water reuse targets while maintaining ultra-clean production environments.
Navigating a Changing World
Gradiant operates at the intersection of several converging trends: climate change, regulatory pressure, and industrial decarbonisation. In many regions, water scarcity has become the limiting factor for industrial growth, sometimes more than energy availability or supply chain constraints.
While public attention often focuses on domestic water use, it is industries that consume the lion’s share of freshwater. Gradiant's pitch is straightforward: industries will have to do more with less, and Gradiant offers the tools to make that possible.
Anurag Bajpayee is keenly aware of the paradox that water, despite being vital, is often underpriced and undervalued, especially when compared to energy. “We don’t pay what it’s worth, only what it costs,” he told an audience at a recent conference. Yet, the landscape is shifting. Regulators, investors, and companies themselves are increasingly acknowledging water as both a business risk and a social responsibility.
What's Next for Gradiant?
Looking ahead, Gradiant appears poised to play a central role as industries adapt to water scarcity. Yet, Anurag Bajpayee remains cautious about the hype cycle. "The problem we’re working on isn’t going anywhere," he says. "It’s not a question of innovation alone, but of execution—of making sure these solutions actually reach the places that need them most."
In an era where water risk is increasingly material to business, Gradiant’s quiet, technically grounded approach may prove to be exactly what is needed.
(The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Eastern Eye. The publication does not endorse or take responsibility for the accuracy of any statements made by the author.)