South African wicketkeeper Sinalo Jafta opened up about the times when she was battling alcoholism and her career was at a standstill.
Moreeng and team doctor Dr. Tshegofatso Gaetsewe assisted the then 27-year-old in entering an alcohol rehabilitation facility in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands in October 2022.
"If you don't come clean here, I don't think you're going to make it out alive," Jafta said she admitted to herself at the time, knowing her promising cricket career had to be put on hold as she dealt with a fight for survival.
"I entered rehab and that humbled me, but I still didn't admit that I was an alcoholic. At that point I realised that if I lose my cricket career, so be it ... It was my life that I was trying to get back. Whether I had a career coming back, it didn't matter,” Jafta told ICC.
Jafta shared that the people at the rehab center viewed her negatively, labeling her as "arrogant, entitled, and selfish."
“I think alcohol was killing me at that point if I’m being honest.
“I was called arrogant, entitled and selfish by the people I stayed with (in rehab), but it wasn’t a malicious point as they cared (for me).
“But that was what it took, as I look back and I was arrogant, I was very selfish and I was very entitled. I will admit that,” Jafta added.
Since making her debut in 2016, Sinalo Jafta has established herself as a key player for the Proteas, participating in 3 Tests, 32 ODIs, and 49 T20Is to date. In her role as a wicketkeeper, she took 54 catches and affected 11 stumpings, showcasing her significant contribution to the team's performance.
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