Harmanpreet Kaur receives Champion Of The World Award from Jay Shah at CNN-News18 Indian Of The Year 2025

Harmanpreet Kaur won the Champion Of The World Award at the CNN-News18’s prestigious Indian of the Year Awards 2025 ceremony while Jay Shah was honoured with the Outstanding Achievement Award in the ceremony held in New Delhi on Friday evening.

While Harmanpreet led the Indian team to their maiden World Cup victory earlier this month, Jay played a key role in revolutionising the women’s cricket scene in the country during his tenure as the BCCI secretary.

The Indian women’s team captain credited Jay who is the current International Cricket Council chairman for his role in uplifting women’s cricket.

Also Read |   How WPL, BCCI investment turned Indian women’s cricket from nearly-there to world champion

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‘World Cup win was childhood dream’

Harmanpreet, who is only the third Indian captain to win the ODI World Cup, said that winning the trophy was a dream for her since she was a child.

“Lifting the World Cup was a dream we cherished since childhood. I would like to thank Jay Shah for his contributions to the Women’s cricket team – the pay parity and the Women’s Premier League (WPL) initiatives have been immensely helpful," Harmanpreet said after receiving the award from ICC Chairman and former BCCI secretary Jay Shah.

“Taking the trophy from you (Jay Shah) was a dream because whenever we used to sit for selection meetings, he would always say, ‘I want to give this team a trophy, this team deserves it’ and I am glad that that day finally came and we could receive the trophy.

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Harmanpreet also thanked legendary women’s cricketers Jhulan Goswami and Mithali Raj who were both present on the stage.

“Also a special thank you to Jhulan di and Mithali di. They also played a big role in our life. Without them it was impossible,” the World Cup-winning skipper said.

Jay Shah dedicates award to women’s team

Jay who was earlier honoured with the Outstanding Achievement Award for his contributions to Indian cricket dedicated the silverware to the women’s team.

“Harman, Jhulan di and Mithali is here, I would like to dedicate this award to all of you,” the former BCCI secretary said.

He recounted his decisions during his tenure at the Indian board but said that pay parity and the launch of Women’s Premier League were his favourite decisions.

“My two favourite decisions remain the implementation of pay parity and the launch of the WPL. You have recently seen the results of these efforts,” Shah said.