Legendary Australia all-rounder Ellyse Perry has praised India captain Harmanpreet Kaur and vice-captain Smriti Mandhana, calling Mandhana's mindset 'incredible' and crediting Harmanpreet's tenacity as the cornerstone of her game. Perry's remarks, made in an interview with JioStar, came on the sidelines of The Hundred 2026, where she captained Birmingham Phoenix and closed their league campaign with a match-winning display.

What Perry Said About Mandhana and Harmanpreet

'What makes Smriti so successful? Her amazing skill. I think she's got incredible willpower and a super-strong mind, the way she approaches the game, the way she prepares, the way she knows herself, the way she thinks about things, and the way that she likes challenges. She's got it all,' Perry said.

On Harmanpreet, Perry was equally emphatic: 'Harman, I think her greatest strength is her tenacity. She's a great competitor, and when she's going, she hits some of the biggest shots in the women's game.' The assessment underscores how India's top two batting names are now benchmarks even in the eyes of one of cricket's greatest all-rounders.

Perry on Her Own Career Longevity

Reflecting on a career that has spanned multiple World Cup cycles and formats, Perry attributed her evolution not to any single breakthrough but to incremental learning over time. 'You just naturally evolve as you grow as a person. Over the many years I've been involved in the game, there have been a number of different experiences, things to learn, people to work with and new avenues to explore,' she said.

'I guess incrementally, as that happens, you add new things or change the way you do things. Often, they're only small changes, but over a long period of time, there's always something new or a way to learn more,' she added. Despite her trophy-laden record, Perry identified simply representing Australia as her proudest achievement. 'Honestly, just being able to play for Australia would be my proudest achievement. I'm a really passionate and patriotic Australian, and I love representing my country.'

ICC Women's Champions Trophy 2027 in Focus

Perry also offered her thoughts on the inaugural ICC Women's Champions Trophy, scheduled for 2027. She welcomed the tournament as a significant addition to the women's international calendar while flagging the physical and mental demands it would place on competing sides.

'It's another great opportunity for the women's game and for all the teams competing. From my perspective, it's a new event, so it's always exciting to be a part of something like that,' she said. 'This tournament will be physically and mentally a huge challenge, and preparing for those matches, everyone's going to have to be spot on. But yeah, the mindset remains the same, you just want to win every game.'

Advice for the Next Generation

Perry spoke warmly about the evolving landscape of women's cricket and the value of cross-generational learning. She credited her father as an early mentor and acknowledged that today's young professionals enter a far more structured environment than she did.

'I think the landscape of women's cricket is really different these days. You walk into a very different environment as a young professional, but those girls are so well prepared for that,' she said. 'It's probably just as much as they would learn from current players, I learn from them. They've got a different experience, a different energy and a different way of going about things. So, it's just about supporting each other and having a really open mind to learn from each other.' As the women's game accelerates into a new era of franchise cricket and marquee global events, Perry's perspective bridges the generation gap with rare authority.