Why Did Rohit Sharma Miss the Padma Awards 2026 Ceremony in New Delhi?

Indian cricket fans were surprised after captain Rohit Sharma did not attend the Padma Awards 2026 ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday, May 25. At the same event, Indian women’s cricket team captain Harmanpreet Kaur attended the ceremony and received her Padma Shri award from President Droupadi Murmu. Earlier this year on the Republic Day of India, the Government of India designated the veteran opener Rohit Sharma as a recipient of the Padma Shri, the country's fourth-highest civilian honor, to celebrate his phenomenal tenure as a leader and his overall impact on the sport.

The Indian captain Rohit Sharma was among the nine sportspersons chosen by the government for the Padma Awards 2026. The prestigious list also included tennis legend Vijay Amritraj, who received the Padma Bhushan, along with hockey star Savita Punia, para-athlete Praveen Kumar, and Indian women’s cricket captain Harmanpreet Kaur. The important point to be noted is that Rohit Sharma did not miss the event due to personal reasons, a sudden skip, or a personal pull-out. Rather, his absence was a matter of schedule handled by the event organizers.

Why Was Rohit Sharma Absent From Today’s Padma Awards 2026 Ceremony in New Delhi?

Since there were many award winners this year, the government divided the Padma Awards presentation into two separate events, called Civil Investiture Ceremonies. The Ministry of Home Affairs approved a total of 131 awardees for 2026. Today’s event at Ganatantra Mandap was Civil Investiture Ceremony-I, where President Droupadi Murmu presented awards to 66 selected recipients.

Rohit was simply not scheduled by the protocol office to pick up his citation during this opening phase, joining several other notable figures across public fields who were assigned to the second half of the rollout. Because the President's Secretariat conducts multiple distribution sessions to handle the demanding logistics of honoring over a hundred high-profile individuals, Rohit has not missed his accolade. The veteran skipper will officially receive his medal and citation directly from President Droupadi Murmu during the upcoming second phase of the civil investiture ceremony, which is scheduled to take place at Rashtrapati Bhavan at a later date.