Wasim Akram Confesses To 'Cocaine Addiction' & How He Almost Divorced His First Wife For It

In his new autobiography Sultan: A Memoir, Wasim Akramdiscusses his battle with cocaine addictionafter his playing career came to an end.

After an 18-year international career, Akram, Pakistan's top wicket-taker in both Test and ODI cricket, retired in 2003. Despite this, he continued to travel the globe for coaching and commentary gigs. 

Wasim Akram reveals he was addicted to cocaine after his playing career ended

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) October 29, 2022

He claims that his cocaine addiction started after he retired because he began to want "a substitute for the adrenaline rush of competition," and it ended in 2009 when his first wife Huma passed away.

A candid portrait of Akram's descent into addiction is painted in excerpts from his book that were published in The Times along with an interview.

"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,” he wrote.

Good on you wazz bhai for getting over it , takes guts ! Can't believe Desi Twitter is a such a nasty place even for gems like you

— Peacock Pietersen (@Dumbslogmillion) October 29, 2022

Akram continued by saying that he had grown dependent on cocaine. 

When he was offered a line at a party in England, it all seemed very innocent at first, but over time, his use became more serious to the point that he began to believe he required it in order to operate on a day-to-day level.

He said that cocaine had made him erratic and dishonest. The former cricketer claims that his first wife, Huma, experienced a lot of loneliness during this difficult time. 

When she expressed a desire to relocate to Karachi in order to be closer to her parents and brothers, Akram was reluctant, in part because he enjoyed travelling alone to Karachi and feigning work while actually going out to party for days on end.

Im glad He has the courage to admit his flaws. Respect!

— khalid idris (@k02idris) October 29, 2022

His addiction was eventually discovered by his wife when she found a packet of cocaine in his wallet. She informed him that he required assistance, and Akram readily concurred. He became aware that things were out of control and that he no longer had control over them.

"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." 

Akram, one of the first athletes to openly discuss living with diabetes, admits to losing track of his disease, which led to migraines and mood swings. Like many addicts, a part of him relished the realisation.

So 1994 West Indies incident was not a Foreign Media Conspiracy after all. It is good on him that he is able to quit it, it takes a bigger man to stop taking drugs and even bigger to admit it.

— Syed Noor ul Haque (@SNoorulhaque) October 30, 2022

"The secrecy had been exhausting," he writes.

Akram found the process of entering rehab to be upsetting. According to the Pakistani legend, the doctor was a complete scam artist who focused more on family manipulation than medical care and on separating relatives from money than drug addicts. He eventually had a relapse as a result.

Despite working hard to overcome his addiction, he still carried anger inside over the humiliation of what he had gone through. His pride was wounded, yet the allure of his way of life persisted. He momentarily considered divorcing, but ultimately decided to travel to the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy, when he resumed using away from his constant supervision.

Wasim Akram doing cocaine is something I cant wrap my mind around. https://t.co/UTuDc09Wrt

— kamil is looking forward to winter (@K_Somaratne) October 29, 2022

Following Huma's death in October 2009 from the uncommon fungus mucormycosis, cocaine usage came to an end, according to 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."

Since then, Akram has had a second marriage and has two sons from the first and a daughter from the second. He stated that he had written his book for his children during an interview with The Times.