The Indian women’s cricket team shared a heartwarming moment in Chelmsford as players came together to celebrate captain Harmanpreet Kaur receiving the prestigious Padma Shri award. Among the happiest in the squad was vice-captain Smriti Mandhana, who could not hide her excitement after witnessing her skipper achieve one of the country’s highest civilian honours.
Currently in England for preparations ahead of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, the Indian team paused their training session to watch the Civil Investiture Ceremony together in the dressing room. As President Droupadi Murmu presented the Padma Shri to Harmanpreet at Rashtrapati Bhavan, the dressing room erupted in applause and cheers.
A video shared by the Board of Control for Cricket in India Women’s social media handle captured the emotional scenes from Chelmsford. Moments after receiving the honour, Harmanpreet joined her teammates virtually through a video call, with Smriti Mandhana leading the celebrations and congratulating her captain with a big smile.
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The touching moment reflected the strong bond within the Indian women’s team ahead of a crucial tournament. The BCCI captioned the video, “One for all and all for one. Moments to truly cherish as Team India celebrates Captain Harmanpreet Kaur’s prestigious Padma Shri award in Chelmsford.”
The Padma Shri recognition came after a remarkable period in Harmanpreet Kaur’s career. Earlier this year, she led India to a historic ICC Women’s ODI World Cup triumph on home soil, ending the country’s long wait for a senior women’s world title. Her leadership and consistent performances have played a massive role in transforming Indian women’s cricket on the global stage.
Meanwhile, the Indian team also made an impressive start to their England tour with a dominant performance in a warm-up game against the ECB Development Women’s XI at The Ambassador Cruise Line Ground in Chelmsford.
Chasing 155 runs, India comfortably reached the target in just 16.2 overs with seven wickets in hand. Since it was a practice fixture, the team continued batting for the full 20 overs and eventually posted a massive 200 for six.
The bowling unit was led brilliantly by Arundhati Reddy, who picked up three wickets, while Deepti Sharma and Shreyanka Patil chipped in with crucial breakthroughs.
In the batting department, Smriti Mandhana gave India a flying start with a quickfire 21 off just 10 balls. Shafali Verma then stole the show with a blistering half-century, smashing 50 runs off only 25 deliveries. Yastika Bhatia also impressed with 47 runs, while Bharti Fulmali remained unbeaten on 27.
With both emotions and confidence running high, the Indian women’s team now heads into the upcoming T20I series against England and the Women’s T20 World Cup with strong momentum and a united dressing room spirit.
