Revealed: Cricket Legend Wasim Akram’s Candid Admission of Cocaine Addiction After Retirement – A Tale of Overcoming Challenges!

After his playing career ended, Wasim Akram admitted that he had a cocaine addiction

After an 18-year international career, Wasim, Pakistan’s top wicket-taker in both Test and ODI cricket, retired in 2003. Despite this, he continued to travel the globe for teaching and commentary gigs. 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. Find more on ESPNCricInfo.

Along with an interview, The Times released some extracts from Akram’s book, which gave a realistic picture of his spiral into addiction. These excerpts were published with the interview.

Wasim states, “I loved to pamper myself; I liked to party.” A culture of celebrity that is all-consuming, seductive, and corruptive exists throughout South Asia. It’s possible to attend 10 parties in one night, and some people really do. And I was aware of its repercussions. My reliance on technology has become an addiction.

“The most unfortunate aspect is that I developed a tolerance for and dependence on cocaine. After being given a line at a party in England, my usage steadily progressed into a more serious state, and I eventually came to the conclusion that I needed to use it in order to operate normally. At the time, everything seemed to be completely harmless.

Wasim Akram: Cocaine Addict

It made me more irritable than I normally am. I found myself lying more often as a result of it. I am aware that Huma spent a lot of time alone at this period of her life and that it was really difficult for her. She constantly voiced the desire to uproot her life and move to Karachi in order to be closer to her relatives there. My position was contrary to that. Why? In part, this is due to the fact that I like going to Karachi by myself, pretending to have business meetings while really going out, and having a good time for many consecutive days. (Wasim Akram)

“Huma was the one who ended up catching me in the end, and she discovered some cocaine in my wallet. You are going to need some assistance. I found myself in agreement. It was beyond anyone’s ability to control. It was beyond my control, and I could do nothing about it. One line would do a multiplication by two, which would then perform a multiplication by four, which would perform a multiplication by one, which would perform a multiplication by two.

My inability to fall asleep was quite frustrating. Due to this, I was unable to consume any food. Because I didn’t keep a close enough eye on my diabetes, I started experiencing headaches and shifts in my mood. A portion of me, similar to the way it is with many addicts, was relieved when I found out the truth since keeping the secret had been exhausting.

Wasim Akram underwent therapy; nevertheless, he found the experience to be unpleasant, and as a result, he eventually relapsed. Later on, he referred to the physician as “a complete con guy,” saying that the doctor depended mostly on manipulating families rather than treating patients and that he focused on separating families from their money rather than removing drug addicts from their drugs.

“No matter what I (Wasim Akram) did, there was still fury inside me over the humiliation of what had happened to me. It didn’t matter how I tried to explain it. Despite the fact that my pride had been hurt, the attractiveness of my way of life lingered. There was a brief period during which I entertained the idea of seeking a divorce. I made the decision to compete in the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy because it would give me the opportunity to go back to utilizing my equipment without Huma’s constant watch.

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