It has been over a month since the World Cup ended, but Harmanpreet is still reaping the rewards for her heroic show in England as she has been promoted to Officer on Special Duty in the Western Railway. The star cricketer was serving as the chief office superintendent of the Western Railway in Mumbai since May 2014.
“In recognition of her outstanding performance in the recently concluded ICC Women’s World Cup, the railway ministry has granted Kaur an out-of-turn promotion in gazetted rank group-B as Officer on Special Duty (OSD)-Sports in the Western Railway,” a senior spokesperson of Western Railways said.
The spokesman also confirmed that Harmanpreet was promoted on September 7. Kaur was also congratulated by Western Railway’s General Manager A K Gupta
“She (Kaur) is an inspiration to all sports persons, especially women,” Gupta said.
Kaur did not enjoy the best of starts in the World Cup, managing just 77 runs in the first six games.
However, the 28-year old regained her devastating form when it mattered the most. She roared back to form in the do-or-die clash against New Zealand, scoring 60 to help India win the match by a whopping margin of 186 runs.
But the hard-hitting batswoman had saved her best for the defending champions Australia in the semifinals as she slammed an outstanding unbeaten 171 runs off just 115 deliveries which was studded with 20 fours and seven well-timed sixes.
Even in the final, she scored 51 with the help of three fours and two sixes but could not take the Women in Blue home as England managed to come out on top in the thrilling clash at Lord’s.
Kaur along with her teammates has been garnering praise from all over in addition to receiving several rewards since returning to the country. In July, the then railway minister Suresh Prabhu had announced a cash reward of Rs 1.30 crore for ten members of the Indian women’s cricket team, employed with Indian Railways.