India Women’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur was presented with the Padma Shri by Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday, May 25. The celebrated honour was awarded in recognition of her exceptional contribution to Indian cricket, particularly following India’s Women’s World Cup victory on home soil last November.
Through the first Civil Investiture Ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, President Murmu conferred 2 Padma Vibhushan, 6 Padma Bhushan, and 58 Padma Shri awards. A complete of 131 Padma Awards were approved for 2026, comprising 5 Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan, and 113 Padma Shri honours, with the remaining recipients set to receive their awards in the course of the second phase of the ceremony.
Harmanpreet Kaur attended the ceremony in a sublime cream-coloured traditional outfit as she received the distinguished Padma Shri award. The honour, which was announced earlier in January, added one other significant achievement to her illustrious cricketing profession.
Among the many other Indian sporting personalities recognised was Rohit Sharma, who was also awarded the Padma Shri but was not present on the ceremony. Watch the video here:
President Droupadi Murmu confers #PadmaShri upon captain of the Indian women’s cricket team Harmanpreet Kaur Bhullar
Probably the most dynamic and impactful cricketers of her generation, she led India to its historic first Women’s Cricket World Cup title #PeoplesPadma… pic.twitter.com/Iuzu9326fh
— PIB India (@PIB_India) May 25, 2026
Padma Awards 2026: Sportspersons Honoured
- Vijay Amritraj – Padma Bhushan
- Baldev Singh – Padma Shri
- Bhagwandas Raikwar – Padma Shri
- Harmanpreet Kaur Bhullar – Padma Shri
- K Pajanivel – Padma Shri
- Praveen Kumar – Padma Shri
- Rohit Sharma – Padma Shri
- Savita Punia – Padma Shri
India Begin Training Camp in England Ahead of T20 World Cup
While Harmanpreet stays in India for the Padma Awards ceremony, the remaining of the squad has already arrived in England. Players reminiscent of Shreyanka Patil, Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues are currently training in Chelmsford ahead of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, which gets underway on June 12.
India will open their campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on June 14 at Edgbaston in Birmingham.
Off to Mission #T20WorldCup with the perfect support behind us 💙🇮🇳
✈️ 𝙏𝙤𝙪𝙘𝙝𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙇𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙤𝙣 with energy, motivation and lots of good vibes 💪#TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/xMCBD4h0Rn
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) May 24, 2026
Harmanpreet Kaur is preparing to feature in her tenth ICC Women’s T20 World Cup and can lead the side for the fifth time on the tournament. Having turn out to be the primary Indian women’s captain to secure an ICC trophy last 12 months, she now has the chance to guide India to their first-ever Women’s T20 World Cup triumph.
Ahead of the worldwide event, India will fine-tune their preparations with a three-match T20I series against England. The team can also be scheduled to play warm-up fixtures against the West Indies and England on June 8 and June 10, respectively.
India began the 12 months on a positive note with a 2-1 T20I series victory over Australia but later endured a difficult tour of South Africa, suffering a 4-1 series loss. Earlier this month, the selectors announced the World Cup squad, handing fast bowler Nandni Sharma her maiden call-up to the national team. Radha Yadav and Yastika Bhatia were also recalled to the squad.
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