When seniority takes guard and merit bowls a googly

There is something endearingly Indian about our civilian honours system: it manages, year after year, to surprise absolutely no one while still triggering spirited debates over evening tea. The recent conferring of the Padma Shri on Rohit Sharma and Harmanpreet Kaur in the same year is merely the latest reminder that, in India, awards do not queue politely by seniority. They arrive instead like a mixed bag of deliveries – some orthodox, some unplayable, and a few that prompt the batsman to stare at the pitch in disbelief.

To the untrained eye, it may seem odd that Rohit, a veteran of multiple World Cups, IPL trophies and press conferences, should share the honours list with Harmanpreet, whose international career, though illustrious, has not clocked the same mileage. But seniority, it appears, is not a currency accepted at the Padma counter. Impact, symbolism and timing, however, are always welcome.

Indian cricket’s relationship with the Padma Shri has long resembled its relationship with selection committees: opaque, unpredictable and endlessly debated. Some receive the honour mid-career, others after retirement, and a few – like the unluckiest of tailenders – keep padding up every year, only to remain stranded in the pavilion of “national gratitude”.

The award, ostensibly meant to recognise “distinguished service”, often ends up rewarding narrative convenience. A World Cup win? Step right in. A historic first in women’s cricket? By all means. A long, consistent career without a headline-defining moment? Please wait, your turn may arrive during a particularly symbolic anniversary year.

This is not to question the worthiness of recipients – far from it. Indian sport has produced excellence in abundance. The real satire lies in the system’s elastic logic. Awards are sometimes conferred so early that they resemble advance payments, and at other times so late that they feel like carefully worded apologies. One wonders whether a cricketer’s greatest achievement is not runs or wickets, but surviving long enough to align form, public sentiment and bureaucratic mood.

Cricket, of course, enjoys a special privilege. Its stars are honoured generously, while athletes from less glamorous disciplines often need Olympic medals, world records and divine intervention to earn a mention. Even then, their recognition occasionally arrives with the air of a corrective footnote.

Ultimately, the Padma Shri in sport has become less a strict merit list and more a rolling commentary – rewarding success, symbolism and the irresistible urge to appear inclusive. In that sense, Rohit and Harmanpreet receiving the honour together is not odd at all. It is perfectly on brand: a reminder that in Indian sport, as in Indian cricket, logic is important – but timing is everything.