Gandhi Jafta, captain of the Fidelity Titans embodies this notion, and continues to inspire those around her with her commitment to excellence on and off the field.
At the recent University of Pretoria Sports Awards, Jafta was honoured with the prestigious Principal’s Award for Exceptional Performance, recognising her unbelievable achievements in both academics and cricket.
Jafta’s journey began in the rural Eastern Cape, where she learned the importance of education from an early age. Her parents instilled the belief of all-round development:
“My parents and my school, Lilyfontein, strongly encouraged holistic development. That meant taking part in different sports, in the music department, and making sure I performed well academically. My dad always encouraged me to have a rare combination of skills, and I’ve always taken that to heart. For me, that combination became cricket and academics.
“That said, studying was always my primary goal. Growing up in the rural Eastern Cape, from an early age it was education that showed me life could be bigger than Willowvale. Schooling took me to East London and Lilyfontein in Grade 1, and I knew that if I wanted to go further, education would take me there too. Coming to Pretoria was first and foremost about coming to university.
Her early achievements, including making the South African Schools team in Grade 10, fuelled her passion for cricket. However, education remained her priority.
Balancing the responsibilities of being a Titans captain while pursuing a PhD and lecturing is no small feat. Jafta emphasised the importance of being present and focused, whilst also acknowledging the sacrifices involved:
“I try to remain fully present and focused on the task at hand. When I’m at cricket, cricket is the priority. When I’m working on my PhD or lecturing, that becomes the main thing. At times the interests conflict, but I stay grounded in what needs to be done at that moment.
“There are sacrifices There are times when the tank runs close to empty – especially when you’re on tour and still have to write articles, study for exams, or even write tests. You get through those challenges by simply getting it done and building your ‘nyamezela’ muscles.
“More recently, when my lecturing load increased and I was working on my PhD while also being on SA Emerging tours and the National Academy, I started working with an occupational therapist to help me plan and execute my days more effectively,” Jafta shared.
For Jafta, a commitment to excellence is not just a goal but a core value. Her competitive nature, combined with her faith, drives her to excel in both arenas.
“God has blessed me with talent both in the classroom and on the field; and to whom much is given, much is expected.
Looking ahead, Jafta has ambitious aspirations in both cricket and academia:
“PhD, Protea, Great lecturer and world renowned researcher!
“On the academic side, I’m particularly interested in research that gives Cricket South Africa a real competitive edge through advanced statistics—moving beyond descriptive statistics to true inferential analysis. Genuine statistics is about quantifying the unknown, and the better we can do that, the more competitive we can become. With all the data available in cricket, we have to use statistics to be the best,” Jafta concluded.
Source: cricket.co.za
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