Wasim Akram makes staggering 'cocaine addiction' admission in his upcoming book

Wasim Akram (Source: Twitter)

One of the most well-known cricketing personalities from Pakistan, widely regarded as one of the best bowlers of all time, Wasim Akram, has made shocking revelations about himself in his upcoming book ‘Sultan: A Memoir’. He said that he once developed an addiction to cocaine which began when he was in England.

In his book, Akram mentioned that he liked to indulge himself and party. He shared that the culture in south Asia is “consuming, seductive and corrupting”. He said that it could get people to go to ten parties a night, which began to take a toll on him. He also said that, at one point, he started developing a “dependence” on cocaine.

“My devices turned into vices,” Akram wrote in the book, as quoted by Times.co.uk. “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,”

I was often lonely in this time: Akram

"Huma (Akram's then-wife), 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 work when it was actually about partying, often for days at a time,” wrote the former Pakistan captain. 

“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.” He said that he could not sleep or eat during these times. He also started to grow more attentive to my diabetes, which caused headaches and mood swings.

“Like a lot of addicts, part of me welcomed discovery: the secrecy had been exhausting. 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,” wrote the 56-year-old.