Indian women’s cricket captain Harmanpreet Kaur was presented with the Padma Shri by President Droupadi Murmu on Monday in New Delhi. The award was handed to her during the Civil Investiture Ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Kaur’s recognition comes after a defining period for Indian women’s cricket. In 2025, she steered India to their first-ever ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup triumph on home ground, guiding the side to a landmark win over South Africa in the final at Navi Mumbai.
Quick facts
- Harmanpreet Kaur received the Padma Shri from President Droupadi Murmu in New Delhi.
- The ceremony took place at Rashtrapati Bhavan during the Civil Investiture event.
- In 2025, Kaur captained India to their maiden ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup title.
- India’s final win over South Africa was staged in Navi Mumbai.
- The triumph made her the first Indian captain to lift the Women’s World Cup.
- Only the second Indian skipper overall to win a World Cup at home after MS Dhoni.
The World Cup success added another milestone to her captaincy credentials. It marked her as the first Indian captain ever to raise the Women’s World Cup trophy, and placed her as only the second Indian skipper to secure a World Cup on home soil, following MS Dhoni.
On the statistics front, Kaur has been a mainstay across formats. She has played 164 ODIs for India, accumulating 4,541 runs at an average of 37.22, including 7 hundreds and 24 half-centuries.
In T20 Internationals, her output has been equally substantial. Across 195 matches, she has scored 3,991 runs, with one century and 16 fifties to her name.
In Test cricket, her experience also stands out. She has featured in 7 Tests, scoring 230 runs at an average of 23.00, including a half-century.
The Padma Shri list also includes several other distinguished figures from sport and beyond. Along with Kaur, former Indian captain Rohit Sharma, Paralympic gold medallist high-jumper Praveen Kumar, women’s hockey goalkeeper Savita Punia, veteran coach Baldev Singh, K Pajanivel, and Bhagwandas Raikwar are set to receive the award.
There will also be a posthumous honour among the recipients. Vladimir Mestvirishvili will be conferred the Padma Shri posthumously, while tennis icon Vijay Amritraj is scheduled to receive the Padma Bhushan.
