Hardik Pandya texts viral BBL dasher, Jerrssis Wadia: The connection that goes way back

Jerssis Wadia shines in Big Bash League with three sixes, gaining attention from Hardik Pandya.

Batter Jerssis Wadia’s Big Bash League breakthrough didn’t just arrive with three sixes; it arrived with a message from Hardik Pandya.

Jerssis Wadia for the Adelaide Strikers. (x images)

The 24-year-old, now with the Adelaide Strikers, went viral after detonating 22 runs in three balls against Brisbane Heat, launching three sixes at the start of his cameo in only his second outing for the franchise. Wadia said he went in wanting a six almost every ball. The clip took off, his Instagram blew up, and he received messages, including texts from Hardik Pandya and Nicholas Pooran.

The Pandya link that runs deeper

The Hardik Pandya connection, Wadia insists, isn’t a celebrity drive-by. He says Pandya once took tuition from Wadia’s mother and, early in his India career, even stayed at the Wadia home in Mumbai. Wadia also speaks of Hardik’s late father, Himanshu Pandya, as a major motivator for their household and says the families have shared close ties for years.

For Wadia, watching the Pandya brothers grind at their local ground became a template. He says seeing Hardik burst onto the scene after years of relentless practice convinced him that a leap of faith could be worth it, even if it meant leaving India’s familiar pathways.

Wadia played U-16 and U-19 cricket for Baroda, but believes the Covid-19 shutdown disrupted his prime age-group window. In 2022, he moved to Australia against his parents’ wishes, describing early disagreements and a period without financial backing at the start. “I just wanted to play cricket,” he says.

Cricket runs in the family. His father, Dilzan Wadia, is a Bollywood actor, and his grandfather, Neville, earned a Guinness World Records entry as the oldest to score a minor-cricket century, a feat Wadia says happened 16 years ago. He credits his grandfather for tossing him a ball when he was four and sparking the obsession.

In Australia, former Test captain Tim Paine and coaches, including Ryan Harris, have backed him. Paine reportedly asked coaches, “Where has this guy come from?” after Wadia’s clean hitting in a short cameo; Wadia says he was initially used more as a spinner in the Strikers’ set-up. Waida also says he can speak Hindi and Gujarati, grew up supporting the Mumbai Indians, and dreams of centuries at Adelaide Oval and Wankhede. His ambition is to play for Australia across formats, including Tests.