Rohit Sharma, Harmanpreet Kaur to be honoured with Padma Shri for sporting excellence

Indian cricketers Rohit Sharma and Harmanpreet Kaur will be awarded the Padma Shri in the field of Sports for their respective sporting excellence. The two have helped Indian cricket sore to new heights with success in leadership.

Rohit recently led India to a couple of ICC titles: the T20 World Cup in 2024 and the Champions Trophy in 2025. He retired from the shortest format briefly after clinching the title in Barbados and later brought down the curtain on his Test career in 2025. Rohit now features exclusively in the 50-over format and his eyes set at representing the nation in the 2027 World Cup.

Rohit has amassed 20,109 runs across formats in international cricket. With 111 half-centuries and 50 tons to his name, his career has made immense impact in Indian cricket.

Coming to Harmanpreet, she recently etched her name into the record books by becoming the first Indian captain in women’s cricket to win the Women’s World Cup. She also became the second Indian after former legendary skipper MS Dhoni to win a 50-over World Cup at home. For years, the Women’s World Cup had eluded India. However, Harmanpreet and her group ensured India had a campaign to remember. The 2025 Women’s World Cup was Harmanpreet’s fifth major event since debuting in 2009.

She registered 260 runs in eight innings which also included a match-defining 89 in the semi-final against Australia. India, who were on the backfoot after the first innings, came back strongly during the chase to track down a record 339 to book their place in the final. The summit clash, which was also held at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai, went the Women in Blue’s way as they got the better of the South Africans by 52 runs to script history.