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The captain of the Indian women`s cricket team, Harmanpreet Kaur, was conferred the Padma Shri by President Droupadi Murmu on Monday, following her immense contributions to Indian cricket and helping the “Women in Blue” clinch the World Cup title on home soil.
She was among the selected sportspersons honoured this year, along with Team India`s veteran batsman Rohit Sharma. With this, they were the only two cricketers to receive the award in the 2026 list.
The honour was presented during the first Civil Investiture Ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan, where President Murmu conferred Padma awards across categories, including Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri. In total, 131 Padma Awards were approved for 2026, with additional recipients to be felicitated in a subsequent phase.
India is proud of you, Harman 🫡🇮🇳
Congratulations on being honoured with the prestigious Padma Shri 👏 pic.twitter.com/aSKJwM1Ai6
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) May 25, 2026
“My dad got a call from President House. This year I`m going to get the Padma Shri Award. I think it`s a very big moment for me. And I`m happy that, you know, before me my parents got to know,” Harmanpreet Kaur had said in a video shared by her Women`s Premier League`s (WPL) team, Mumbai Indians (MI).
“Many many congratulations to [Rohit] also. We have seen how, you know, he has been really working hard and I think it`s a great moment for him,” she added.
So far, Harmanpreet has represented India in seven Test matches. She has scored 230 runs with an average of 23.00 and has a top score of 69 runs.
The 37-year-old cricketer has also made 164 ODI and 195 T20I appearances for the “Women in Blue”. She has scored 4541 runs, including 24 half-centuries and seven centuries in the 50-over format. In the shortest format of the game, the right-handed batswoman has accumulated 3991 runs, including a ton and 16 half-centuries.
Apart from Harmanpreet and Rohit, Paralympic gold medal-winning high-jumper Praveen Kumar, Indian women`s hockey goalkeeper Savita Punia, veteran coach Baldev Singh, K Pajanivel, and Bhagwandas Raikwar will all receive Padma Shri.
Vladimir Mestvirishvili will be honoured with the Padma Shri posthumously, while tennis legend Vijay Amritraj is set to receive the Padma Bhushan.
(With Inputs from Agencies)
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