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Wasim Akram reveals he was addicted to Cocaine after retirement

CricketWasim Akram reveals he was addicted to Cocaine after retirement

Srinagar: Former Pakistan cricket team captain Wasim Akram has revealed that he was addicted to Cocaine after his retirement from Cricket in his upcoming autobiography Sultan: A Memoir.

Wasim Akram retired in 2003 after an illustrious 18-year international career.

In his autobiography Akram has revealed that his cocaine addiction began after he hang up his boots when he felt the yearning for “a substitute for the adrenaline rush of competition”, and he ended the habit after the demise of his first wife Huma back in 2009.

“I liked to indulge myself; I liked to party,” he writes in his autobiography.

“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 voices”.

“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 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.”

Akram had to go into rehabilitation to quit cocaine consumption and he shared about his torrid time with the doctor who he alleged was keen on manipulating patients than treating them which made his recovery difficult.

“The doctor was a complete con man, who worked primarily on manipulating families rather than treating patients, on separating relatives from money rather than users from drugs.”

“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.”

The demise of Akram’s wife Huma changed his life altogether and she helped him cure his drug addiction.

“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.”

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