Rohit Sharma to receive his Padma Shri award [Source: AFP]Former captain Rohit Sharma was chosen to be awarded the Padma Shri award by the Indian government to honour his contributions to Indian cricket. And this month itself, Sharma is set to collect his medal.Rohit, who led India to the T20 World Cup title in 2024, has been one of India’s brightest stars in cricket. In his over a decade-long career, the opener led India to multiple victories with his record-breaking knocks.Hence, to honour his services in the field of sports, Rohit was declared the winner of the Padma Shri Award 2026.Rohit Sharma to be conferred with Padma Shri soonMeanwhile, Rohit Sharma missed the initial Padma Shri award ceremony on May 25, 2026, at Rashtrapati Bhavan because Padma awards are presented in multiple batches across multiple ceremonies, and awardees may be scheduled into later ceremonies for procedural and scheduling reasons.Rohit was busy with the IPL 2026 tournament, playing for Mumbai Indians while also nursing a hamstring injury. Regardless, another award ceremony is set to take place at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on June 23.President Droupadi Murmu will do the honours, and Rohit Sharma is expected to attend this ceremony in New Delhi. The ODI series against Afghanistan will end on June 20, meaning the opener will be free from national duty.Alongside Rohit, Indian Women captain Harmanpreet Kaur also received her Padma Shri. She led India to the maiden ODI World Cup title in 2025, and hence, the government honours her with the country’s fourth-highest civilian award.Also Read - Gautam Gambhir To Have Hard Talk With Virat Kohli, Rohit SharmaRohit Sharma’s award listBefore the Padma Shri, Rohit Sharma was awarded the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna, India's highest sporting honour, in 2020. Previously, in 2015, Rohit received the Arjuna Award in 2015 for his outstanding achievements in international cricket.Now, he is set to receive a Padma Shri, which places him in an elite list of cricketers who achieved the award after their successful careers. Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir are a few names who were previously conferred with a Padma Shri.MS Dhoni, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar also feature in the list. But Tendulkar is an exception, as apart from the Padma Shri, he is also the recipient of the highest civilian award in India, which is the Bharat Ratna.Rohit Sharma silences fitness doubtsMeanwhile, ahead of the ODI series against Afghanistan, Rohit Sharma got fitness clearance from BCCI CoE after struggling with a hamstring injury during the IPL. He later joined the Indian squad in Dharamsala.According to reports, Rohit began with conditioning drills under the supervision of strength and conditioning coach Adrian Le Roux before completing multiple shuttle-run sets. He batted in the nets and spent nearly an hour facing both fast bowlers and spinners, rotating between different practice stations as coaches closely monitored his progress.More importantly, the opener moved freely during running drills and batting practice, effectively answering the biggest question surrounding his availability for the Afghanistan ODIs.Also Read - PSL 2026 Breaks All Profitability Records, Still No Match For IPL
