Indian Players with Padma Shri Awards: Harmanpreet Kaur and Rohit Sharma will receive the Padma Shri Award in 2026. The Padma Shri is the fourth-highest civilian honour in India. Both were named in the list of 131 awardees announced by the central government, which included several sportspersons.
Harmanpreet Kaur created history last year by leading India to their first-ever women’s cricket World Cup title. The captain was playing her fifth ODI World Cup. India recovered from three straight losses to defeat Australia in the semi-final and South Africa in the final. Harmanpreet said her family was informed first after her father received a call from the President’s House, calling it a very big moment for her.
Rohit Sharma, 38, has led India to several major finals and titles in recent years. He captained India to the ODI World Cup final in 2023, won the T20 World Cup in 2024, and lifted the Champions Trophy in 2025. He retired from T20 cricket after the 2024 World Cup and from Test cricket after the 2024–25 Australia tour. He is now focusing on playing the 2027 ODI World Cup.
Harmanpreet congratulated Rohit as well, saying his hard work has paid off and that the award is a great moment for him. She also spoke about her long journey in cricket, which began in March 2009. She gained global attention in 2017 for a famous World Cup innings against Australia and received the Arjuna Award that same year. She said winning the World Cup, Arjuna Award, and now the Padma Shri has been a dream come true.
List of the Indian Players with Padma Shri Awards
Indian cricketers have been honoured with the Padma Shri for their impact on the game across many decades. The list of Indian players with Padma Shri awards begins in 1960 with Vijay Hazare, who captained India to its first-ever Test victory, and Jasu Patel, remembered for his match-winning 9 for 69 against Australia. In the early 1960s, Nari Contractor was honoured for his courage after a serious head injury, Polly Umrigar for becoming the first Indian to score a Test double century, and Syed Mushtaq Ali for scoring India’s first Test hundred overseas.
From the late 1970s to the 1990s, the award went to stars like Farokh Engineer, Kapil Dev for leading India to the 1983 World Cup, Syed Kirmani, Dilip Vengsarkar, Mohammad Azharuddin, and Sachin Tendulkar, who became the first player to score 100 international centuries.
In the 2000s and 2010s, recipients included Diana Edulji for her role in women’s cricket, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Anil Kumble, MS Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Virender Sehwag, VVS Laxman, Jhulan Goswami, Yuvraj Singh, Mithali Raj, and Virat Kohli, each recognised for defining performances, leadership, or records.
More recent recipients include Gautam Gambhir, Zaheer Khan, coach Gurcharan Singh, and Ravichandran Ashwin for his Test match impact. In 2026, Rohit received the Padma Shri for leading India to the 2024 T20 World Cup and 2025 Champions Trophy titles, while Harmanpreet was honoured for captaining India to the 2025 Women’s World Cup victory.
| Year | Name |
| 1960 | Vijay Hazare |
| 1960 | Jasu Patel |
| 1962 | Nari Contractor |
| 1962 | Polly Umrigar |
| 1963 | Syed Mushtaq Ali |
| 1964 | M.J. Gopalan |
| 1965 | D.B. Deodhar |
| 1967 | Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi |
| 1969 | Chandu Borde |
| 1970 | Bishan Singh Bedi |
| 1970 | E.A.S. Prasanna |
| 1971 | Gundappa Vishwanath |
| 1972 | Ajit Wadekar |
| 1972 | B.S. Chandrasekhar |
| 1973 | Farokh Engineer |
| 1975 | Pankaj Roy |
| 1982 | Kapil Dev |
| 1982 | Syed Kirmani |
| 1984 | Chuni Goswami |
| 1987 | Dilip Vengsarkar |
| 1988 | Mohammad Azharuddin |
| 1999 | Sachin Tendulkar |
| 2002 | Diana Edulji |
| 2003 | S. Venkataraghavan |
| 2004 | Rahul Dravid |
| 2004 | Sourav Ganguly |
| 2005 | Anil Kumble |
| 2009 | MS Dhoni |
| 2009 | Harbhajan Singh |
| 2010 | Virender Sehwag |
| 2011 | VVS Laxman |
| 2012 | Jhulan Goswami |
| 2014 | Yuvraj Singh |
| 2014 | Anjum Chopra |
| 2015 | Mithali Raj |
| 2017 | Virat Kohli |
| 2019 | Gautam Gambhir |
| 2020 | Zaheer Khan |
| 2023 | Gurcharan Singh |
| 2025 | Ravichandran Ashwin |
| 2026 | Rohit Sharma |
| 2026 | Harmanpreet Kaur |
FAQs
Q. What is the Padma Shri Award?
A. The Padma Shri is India’s fourth-highest civilian honour in India.
Q. Which Indian cricketers will receive the Padma Shri in 2026?
A. Harmanpreet Kaur and Rohit Sharma will receive the Padma Shri in 2026.
Q. Why was Harmanpreet awarded the Padma Shri?
A. Harmanpreet Kaur was honoured for leading India to their first-ever Women’s Cricket World Cup title.
Q. Why was Rohit Sharma awarded the Padma Shri?
A. Rohit Sharma was honoured for leading India to the 2024 T20 World Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy titles.
Q. Who was the first Indian cricketer to receive the Padma Shri?
A. Vijay Hazare received the Padma Shri in 1960.
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