Shankar Sharma, Dubai skies and a big oil bet as drones, US fighter jets flew days ahead of Iran strikes

When market veteran Shankar Sharma saw US fighter sorties and drones over Dubai skies two-three days ahead of the US-Iran war, he knew what was coming. Sharma said it is a very gut wrenching period for people, who have been in the war zone.

"Till you see or hear the intercepts and you feel the bombs going off close to where you stay, you don't understand what it feels like," the Founder at GQuant told Business Today.

Sharma recalled seeing drones flying over Dubai skies on February 25. He said it was a very different feeling when one realises how life can be brought down to a moment when one wonders whether anything bad will happen tonight. Sharma said he knew for sure it was a matter of days before the war started.

"But going through that time, and I recall, this is one month ago, at least, I had the presence of mind on February 26, actually. On 28th the war started and because I have done a lot of work prior to the war in the Middle East, I knew it was a matter of a few days when it would start," Sharma said.

Sharma was speaking at Business Today MindRush & India’s Best CEOs Awards on the topic "Beyond the Markets Mayhem".

Shankar Sharma's big bet
On the night of 25th February, Shankar said he heard a lot of jets flying overhead. "That was probably shorties being flown by American fighters, which was from the aircraft carrier in the Gulf. So I could not sleep, and I went down to the lower floor of my home, and I started to read," Sharma recalled.  

Sharma said he read news till morning, and the conclusion he reached was that people were underestimating Iran. Sharma said he spent five-six hours reading up and was very clear that this would not be an easy war for the aggressors, the US and Israel, to win.

"If it's not an easy war, then the outcomes will be worse than what we expect. The Strait of Hormuz closure was already on the cards in the previous June 2025 episode. It was already talked about then;  that it did not happen was only because of a ceasefire," he said.

Sharma said he did the only logical thing that his 35-36 years of experience has taught him: look for opportunities. He went ahead and bought a lot of oil, the very next day the market opened.

"It's not a bull market that people like, but I am a bull. It is just that I look like a bear, but actually I'm not. I play the bull market across the world. There is always something where I can make money, even in a war zone. So while things were going around, I was actually fairly relaxed. So it worked out quite okay," Sharma said.

Madhu Kela on Shankar Sharma
Madhusudan Kela, founder at MK Ventures, was another panellist at the event. He said Sharma's ability to identify the next leg of trend or the market is absolutely unprecedented.

"I don't even claim that I understand these things. I want to really do things which I understand. I have no real understanding of what the next leg, the next leg of the market, will be, you know. So to that extent, I really admire Shankar a lot for his ability to shift to the next big trade and stay there till the time it lasts," Kela said.