Indian women’s cricket team captain Harmanpreet Kaur received the Padma Shri from President Droupadi Murmu at the Civil Investiture Ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday (May 25). Naturally, fans quickly noticed that Rohit Sharma, who was also announced as a Padma Shri awardee earlier this year, was missing from the ceremony.
That immediately led to confusion online, with many wondering whether Rohit had skipped the event or if there was some issue behind the scenes. But, thankfully, it is not anything like this. Rohit has not been denied the award. He is still set to receive his Padma Shri, just not during this particular ceremony.
Rohit Sharma to receive his Padma Shri later
The Government of India usually conducts Padma award ceremonies in multiple phases across different dates at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Awardees are divided into batches depending on scheduling and logistical arrangements. Harmanpreet attended the first investiture ceremony in person, while Rohit is expected to collect his honour during a later ceremony.
Harmanpreet’s presence at the ceremony came after a historic year for Indian women’s cricket. In 2025, she captained India to their first-ever ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup title at home after defeating South Africa in the final at Navi Mumbai. The triumph made her the first Indian women’s captain to win the ODI World Cup and only the second Indian skipper after MS Dhoni to lift a World Cup on home soil.
Rohit, meanwhile, had expressed his gratitude earlier this year after being named among the Padma Shri recipients. The former India captain remains one of the most successful white-ball batters in cricket history and recently helped India win the ICC Champions Trophy in 2025.
His absence from Monday’s event was simply because he was not part of the first batch of recipients honoured at Rashtrapati Bhavan. As per India Today, the Mumbai Indians batter is expected to receive the medal during another investiture ceremony later this year, although the official date has not yet been announced publicly.
Padma Awards 2026: Sports winners list
| Name | Award |
|---|---|
| Vijay Amritraj | Padma Bhushan |
| Baldev Singh | Padma Shri |
| Bhagwandas Raikwar | Padma Shri |
| Harmanpreet Kaur | Padma Shri |
| K Pajanivel | Padma Shri |
| Praveen Kumar | Padma Shri |
| Rohit Sharma | Padma Shri |
| Savita Punia | Padma Shri |
| Vladimir Mestvirishvili (Posthumous) | Padma Shri |
Cricket
BCCI responds to Team India's debacle against Ireland & England; Shreyas Iyer likely to be summoned
