top of page

By:

Rajiv Shah

22 September 2025 at 8:32:23 pm

New Alliances, New Pressures, New Fault Lines

To its west, old relationships in the Gulf are acquiring new strategic and military dimensions. Across the Atlantic, Washington is increasingly using tariffs as an instrument of foreign policy. At the same time, India holds the BRICS presidency in 2026 and prepares to host its summit when the grouping is being watched in the West as a potential challenge to the American-dominated global financial order. Individually, these developments may appear unrelated. Put together, they reveal a larger...

New Alliances, New Pressures, New Fault Lines

To its west, old relationships in the Gulf are acquiring new strategic and military dimensions. Across the Atlantic, Washington is increasingly using tariffs as an instrument of foreign policy. At the same time, India holds the BRICS presidency in 2026 and prepares to host its summit when the grouping is being watched in the West as a potential challenge to the American-dominated global financial order. Individually, these developments may appear unrelated. Put together, they reveal a larger geopolitical churn in which alliances, energy, trade, currencies and economic coercion are becoming interconnected. India finds itself almost at its centre. The emerging Saudi Arabia–Türkiye–Pakistan security equation deserves particular attention. Saudi Arabia brings enormous financial and energy influence; Türkiye possesses considerable military strength, NATO experience and an expanding defence industry; Pakistan brings a large military establishment and nuclear capability with the open support of Washington. Any arrangement containing a collective-defence commitment naturally acquires significance beyond ordinary diplomatic cooperation. Alongside it, another strategic convergence has gradually developed among India, Israel and the UAE. It would be incorrect to describe this as a formal military alliance. Yet geopolitics does not operate through defence treaties alone. India's extensive defence and technology relationship with Israel, its rapidly expanding economic and strategic partnership with the UAE, and the UAE-Israel relationship following the Abraham Accords have created considerable common ground. I2U2—bringing together India, Israel, the UAE and the United States—added another institutional dimension. Thus, without necessarily becoming opposing military camps, two interesting strategic formations are visible across West Asia: Saudi Arabia–Türkiye–Pakistan and the looser India–UAE–Israel convergence. Balancing Challenge India faces a similar balancing challenge. The Gulf is not a distant geopolitical theatre for New Delhi. Nearly nine million Indians live and work there. India's energy security, investments, trade and remittance flows are closely connected with the region. The proposed India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor also requires relative stability across this geography. Polarisation in West Asia can therefore rapidly become an Indian economic and strategic problem. There is another question Indian planners cannot ignore. If a future India-Pakistan confrontation escalates, how would any collective-defence commitment involving Pakistan be interpreted by Saudi Arabia and Türkiye? It would be alarmist to assume that either country would automatically enter a conflict against India. Saudi Arabia, in particular, has substantial economic and strategic interests in maintaining good relations with New Delhi. Nevertheless, defence planners are paid to examine possibilities before they become crises. While these equations develop in India's neighbourhood, economic pressure is emerging from Washington. The US Senate has voted 86–11 for legislation intended to increase pressure on Russia by targeting major purchasers of Russian energy. The measure could authorise tariffs reaching 100 per cent against goods from countries continuing large-scale purchases of Russian oil and gas, with India among those potentially exposed. China is powerful enough to shrug off similar challenges from the West." However this does not mean that America has already imposed a 100 per cent tariff on India. Further legislative steps remain necessary, and presidential waiver provisions are important. But the overwhelming Senate vote carries a political message that New Delhi cannot dismiss. Tariffs are no longer merely tools of trade protection; they have become instruments of geopolitical coercion. Washington's argument is understandable: revenues from Russian petroleum help sustain Moscow's economy during the Ukraine war, and reducing those revenues increases pressure on Russia. But in that case what about European countries who too were/are customers of Russian oil? India's question is equally legitimate: who should determine where India purchases the energy required by more than 1.4 billion people? If Russian crude remains commercially advantageous and helps contain domestic energy costs, New Delhi cannot reasonably be expected to make every energy decision according to another country's geopolitical priorities. Strategic partnership cannot become strategic obedience. This is where BRICS enters the larger picture. India holds the BRICS presidency in 2026 and will host its leaders at an unusually sensitive moment. BRICS is no longer merely the original grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Its expansion has considerably increased its demographic, energy and geopolitical weight. More importantly, discussions around BRICS increasingly touch a sensitive nerve in Washington: alternative payment mechanisms, local-currency trade, development finance and the possibility of gradually reducing dependence upon the dollar-dominated international financial system. The BRICS Summit this time is poised to take some decisive steps which may affect western interests especially US. (The writer is an advocate, legal, geopolitical and public policy analyst. Views personal.)

Fallen Empire of the Mighty Windies

How the mighty have fallen. Once upon a time, the West Indies cricket team was a juggernaut, a fearsome beast that sent shivers down the spines of opponents. With legends like Sir Garfield Sobers and Brian Lara wielding bats like Excalibur, they carved out records that stood as monuments to their dominance.


Sobers’ 365 not out in 1958 and Lara’s 375 in 1994, followed by his audacious 400 not out in 2004, were the gold standard of Test cricket scoring—individual feats that mocked the very idea of collective failure. Fast forward to July 14, 2025, and the West Indies, chasing a modest 204 against Australia in Kingston, collapsed like a house of cards in a hurricane, bowled out for a pathetic 27 runs. Twenty-seven. Let that sink in. A team that once terrorized bowlers worldwide couldn’t muster enough runs to fill a decent PowerPoint slide. This wasn’t just a collapse; it was a public execution of pride, broadcast for all to see.

 

Mitchell Starc, in his 100th Test, turned into a one-man wrecking crew, taking 6-9, including three wickets in the first over. Scott Boland chipped in with a hat-trick, because apparently the West Indies batters were in a race to see who could get back to the pavilion fastest. Seven ducks—seven!—and only Justin Greaves, with a measly 11, bothered to show up. The second-lowest Test total in history, just one run shy of New Zealand’s 26 from 1955. 


Congratulations, West Indies, you narrowly avoided the ultimate humiliation, thanks to a misfield. Truly, a moment to frame. Let’s rewind to the glory days, shall we? The 1970s and 1980s West Indies were cricket’s equivalent of a heavyweight champion, knocking out opponents with a swagger that made lesser teams tremble. Sobers, the greatest all-rounder ever, could bat, bowl, and field with a grace that made the game look unfair. Lara, with his high backlift and murderous cover drives, toyed with bowlers like a cat with a half-dead mouse. These men didn’t just play cricket; they redefined it.


Their individual scores—365, 375, 400—were the stuff of legend, numbers that stood unchallenged for decades. Meanwhile, the 2025 West Indies team can’t cobble together 200 runs between 11 players. It’s like comparing a Shakespearean sonnet to a toddler’s crayon scribble. What happened to this once-invincible empire? The West Indies of yesteryear had fire in their bellies and steel in their spines. They had Viv Richards, who stared down fast bowlers without a helmet and still smashed them into next week. They had Malcolm Marshall, whose bowling was so lethal it should’ve come with a health warning. Now? The current squad looks like they’re auditioning for a tragic comedy.


Captain Roston Chase called it “heartbreaking,” but that’s generous. It’s more like watching a former rock star busking for loose change outside a dive bar. The team’s batting was so spineless that even the extras felt embarrassed to contribute. The emergency meeting called by Cricket West Indies, featuring luminaries like Lara, Richards, and Clive Lloyd, is a nice touch—like inviting Einstein to fix a broken calculator. But let’s not kid ourselves. This isn’t a one-off; it’s a symptom of a rot that’s been festering for decades. The West Indies rank eighth out of 12 Test teams, a far cry from their untouchable perch in the ‘80s. Players are lured away by the glitz of T20 leagues, leaving Test cricket to wither like an unloved houseplant. The pitches in Kingston might favor bowlers, but no surface excuses a batting lineup folding faster than a cheap lawn chair. Here’s the kicker: Sobers and Lara didn’t just score runs; they carried the hopes of a region, turning cricket into a cultural force. Their records were a middle finger to anyone who doubted the Caribbean’s might. Today’s team? They’re a cautionary tale, a reminder that even empires can crumble into dust.


So, what now? The West Indies’ 27-run implosion isn’t just a bad day at the office; it’s a neon sign flashing “Game Over” for a team that’s been on life support for years. The emergency meeting feels like a desperate séance to summon a spirit that’s long since fled. Cricket West Indies can talk about “rebuilding” and “strategic reviews” until the cows come home, but let’s be real: this team is a shadow of its former self, and no amount of PowerPoint presentations will fix that. The problem isn’t just technique or preparation; it’s a cultural collapse, a slow bleed of passion and pride that’s left the West Indies as relevant as a flip phone in 2025. The T20 leagues, with their fat paychecks and instant gratification, have seduced the region’s talent away from the grind of Test cricket. Why sweat it out for five days when you can slap a few sixes in three hours and buy a yacht? The current crop of players, with rare exceptions, seem to treat Test matches like an annoying chore, not a sacred battleground where legends are forged. 


(The writer is a senior journalist based in Mumbai.)

Comments

bottom of page