India Women’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur received the prestigious Padma Shri award from President Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi on Monday, May 25, recognising her immense contribution to Indian cricket following the team’s historic World Cup triumph last November. Harmanpreet attended the ceremony in a cream-coloured ethnic outfit as she accepted one of the country’s highest civilian honours.
At the first Civil Investiture Ceremony, the President conferred two Padma Vibhushan, six Padma Bhushan and 58 Padma Shri awards. A total of 131 Padma Awards were approved for 2026, including 5 Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri honours. Former Indian men’s cricket captain Rohit Sharma was also named among the Padma Shri recipients, although he was absent from the ceremony.
India Women begin preparations for T20 World Cup in England
While Harmanpreet remained in India for the awards ceremony, several members of the Indian women’s squad, including vice-captain Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues and Shreyanka Patil, have already arrived in Chelmsford to prepare for the upcoming Women’s T20 World Cup, beginning on June 12 in England. The Women in Blue will open their campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on June 14 at Edgbaston, Birmingham.
The upcoming tournament will mark Harmanpreet’s 10th Women’s T20 World Cup appearance and her fifth as captain. Last year, she became the first Indian woman captain to win an ICC title and now aims to guide India to their maiden Women’s T20 World Cup crown.
Ahead of the mega event, India will play a three-match T20I series against England, followed by warm-up matches against West Indies and England on June 8 and 10 respectively. India began the year with a 2-1 series win over Australia before suffering a 1-4 defeat against South Africa. Earlier this month, the selectors announced India’s World Cup squad, with fast bowler Nandni Sharma earning her maiden call-up, while Radha Yadav and Yastika Bhatia returned to the setup.
India squad for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026:
Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Bharti Fulmali, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Shree Charani, Yastika Bhatia, Nandani Sharma, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh, Kranti Gaud, Shreyanka Patil, Radha Yadav.
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