Former Pakistani pacer Wasim Akram, while talking in his biography, has revealed that he became addicted to cocaine after his career ended tragically. His name was included in match-fixing reports somewhere in the 1990s as a consequent of which, his career ended in 2003.
He has retired as Pakistan’s highest wicket-taker, has had no opponent up till now and ended his international career remarkably with 916 wickets. Wasim, who played his last test match in 2002, came across the last ODI of his career in the subsequent year. After his stellar career ended, he started his stint as a coach and as a commentator ad started travelling across the world
The King of Swing married Huma Akram in 1995, who passed away due to a rare fungal infection, mucormycosis. He was addicted to the seductive culture in South Asia, which included clubbing and partying. With the courtesy of culture, he also became addicted to cocaine.
Huma forced Wasim into a recovery and rehab process; he still liked to do that behind the scenes fooling his former wife into thinking that the recovery process was working. While remembering Huma in good words, Wasim writes that she was a selfless lady, although he was sick of her scrutiny for the cocaine test back then and came across thoughts of divorce.
The ex-cricketer left such habits after Huma passed away in 2009. Later, he married an Australian female named Shaniera Akram in 2013. Wasim now has three children including two sons from his ex-wife and a daughter from Shaniera.
According to his biography,
"I liked to indulge myself; I liked to party," he writes. "The culture of fame in south Asia is all-consuming, seductive and corrupting. You can go to ten parties a night, and some do. And it took its toll on me. My devices turned into vices.
"Worst of all, I developed a dependence on cocaine. It started innocuously enough when I was offered a line at a party in England; my use grew steadily more serious, to the point that I felt I needed it to function.
"It made me volatile. It made me deceptive. Huma, I know, was often lonely in this time . . . she would talk of her desire to move to Karachi, to be nearer her parents and siblings. I was reluctant. Why? Partly because I liked going to Karachi on my own, pretending it was working when it was actually about partying, often for days at a time.
"Huma eventually found me out, discovering a packet of cocaine in my wallet . . . 'You need help.' I agreed. It was getting out of hand. I couldn't control it. One line would become two; two would become four; four would become a gram, and a gram would become two. I could not sleep. I could not eat. I grew inattentive to my diabetes, which caused me headaches and mood swings. Like a lot of addicts, part of me welcomed discovery: the secrecy had been exhausting."
"Try as I might, part of me was still smouldering inside about the indignity of what I'd been put through. My pride was hurt, and the lure of my lifestyle remained. I briefly contemplated divorce. I settled for heading to the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy where, out from under Huma's daily scrutiny, I started using again."
"Huma's last selfless, unconscious act was curing me of my drug problem. That way of life was over, and I have never looked back."
"I'm a bit anxious about the book, but I think once it is out, I'll be kind of over it. I'm anxious because at my age, I'm 56, and I've been diabetic for 25 years; it is just stress, you know . . . it was tough to revisit all the things. I've done it for my two boys, who are 25 and 21, and my seven-year-old daughter, just to put my side of the story."
