NEW DELHI: Harmanpreet Kaur received the Padma Shri from President Droupadi Murmu on Monday during the Civil Investiture Ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. The honour was conferred following a landmark year for Indian women's cricket.
In 2025, Kaur led India to their first ICC Women's Cricket World Cup title on home soil. The team defeated the South Africa women's cricket team in the final held in Navi Mumbai. This victory made Kaur the first Indian captain to win the Women's World Cup and only the second Indian skipper after MS Dhoni to win a World Cup at home.
Kaur has represented India in 164 One Day Internationals, scoring 4,541 runs at an average of 37.22, including seven centuries and 24 half-centuries. In T20 Internationals, she has scored 3,991 runs in 195 matches, with one century and 16 fifties. In Test cricket, she has played seven matches and scored 230 runs at an average of 23.00, including one half-century.
Apart from Kaur, other recipients of the Padma Shri include former India captain Rohit Sharma, Paralympic gold medallist Praveen Kumar, India women's hockey goalkeeper Savita Punia, veteran coach Baldev Singh, K Pajanivel, and Bhagwandas Raikwar. Vladimir Mestvirishvili will be honoured with the Padma Shri posthumously, while tennis player Vijay Amritraj will receive the Padma Bhushan.
Earlier, when the list of awardees was announced, Harmanpreet expressed her gratitude in a video shared by her Women's Premier League team Mumbai Indians. She described the moment as deeply significant for her family. "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," she said in the video.
She also acknowledged Rohit Sharma's inclusion in the honours list, adding, "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."
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