In his upcoming autobiography Sultan: A Memoir, Wasim Akram discusses his struggle with cocaine addiction after his playing career ended.
After an 18-year international career, Akram retired in 2003 as Pakistan’s leading wicket-taker in both Test and ODI cricket, but he continued to travel the world on commentary and coaching assignments. He said his cocaine addiction began after he retired and ended with the death of his first wife Huma in 2009.
Following his retirement, Akram, now 56, admitted to his cocaine addiction and revealed that he tried rehab but was unsuccessful.
“I liked to indulge myself; I liked to party,” Akram writes in his upcoming book ‘Sultan: A Memoir’, as quoted by times.co.uk.
“South Asia’s fame culture is all-consuming, seductive, and corrupting. You can go to ten parties in one night, and some people do. And it cost me dearly. My devices had become vices,” he said.
“Worst of all, I developed a cocaine addiction. It began innocently enough when I was offered a line at a party in England; my use grew steadily more serious, to the point where I felt I needed it to function,” Akram explained.
“It made me volatile. It made me deceptive. Huma, I know, was often lonely at 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 work 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, 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.”
He also revealed that the rehab in Lahore did not work and was instead a more traumatic experience. He said the doctor was more concerned with “manipulating families than treating patients” and that he relapsed into his old habits after leaving the rehab facility.
Huma’s tragic death from a rare fungal infection eventually changed everything for Akram. “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,” Akram said.
Also Read: ‘Watching the last three overs again’: Google CEO Sundar Pichai shuts Pakistani troll in style
