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Former Pakistan pacer Wasim Akram may be regarded as one of the greatest bowlers cricket has ever seen, but he's referred to as the “match-fixer” in his country. He made the shocking revelation in a recent interview with the Wide World of Sports at the launch event of his autobiography ‘Sultan Wasim Akram'.
“In Australia, England, West Indies and India, when they talk about the World XI, when they talk about the best bowler in the world, my name pops up but in Pakistan, this generation, this social media generation, they are the one who come down, every comment they send, they say, ‘oh, he is a match fixer', not knowing what it was,” Wasim Akram said.
“I have passed that stage in my life where I have to worry about people,” he added.
The match-fixing allegations against Wasim Akram date back to the 1990s when his Pakistan teammate Ata-ur-Rehman accused him of offering money to put up a below-par performance in a game.
However, a committee formed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to investigate Ata-ur-Rehman's claims found no evidence of Wasim Akram's involvement. But the commission said that he should be removed from the captaincy of the national team as there were some doubts about his “integrity”.
“The evidence against Wasim Akram has not come up to the requisite level, primarily because of Ata-ur-Rehman’s perjuring himself. This Commission is willing to give him the benefit of doubt,” the PCB report stated at the time.
“However, there has been some evidence to cast doubt on his integrity. As such, this Commission recommends that he be removed from the captaincy of the Pakistan Cricket Team and a person of impeccable character be appointed. Moreover, he should be censured, kept under watch, and his finances should be investigated,” it added.
During his 18-year career for Pakistan, Wasim Akram won many accolades with the national team, including the 1992 ODI World Cup, the nation’s only triumph in the biggest cricket tournament played on Earth.
Besides being a World Cup winner, Wasim Akram is the highest wicket-taker for Pakistan in both Test and ODI cricket. While he took 414 wickets from 104 games in the longest format of the sport, he dismissed 502 batters with his left-arm swing bowling in One-Day Internationals (ODIs).
To date, Wasim Akram remains the only bowler to take at least two hat-tricks each in Test and ODI cricket.
After retiring from the sport in 2003, Wasim Akram became a leading voice in the commentary box, commentating and writing about the game in several publications around the world. He occasionally took coaching assignments in both Pakistan and abroad.
Last month, Wasim Akram created ripples in the cricket world after disclosing that he struggled with cocaine addiction after hanging his boots.
According to the Pakistan great, he began consuming cocaine as a “substitute for the adrenaline rush of competition” because he was missing the highs and lows that he felt on the field while playing for his country.
“I liked to indulge myself; I liked to party,” the legendary Pakistan cricketer mentioned. “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.”
“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.”
“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.”
As his treatment in Pakistan didn’t go according to plan, Wasim Akram’s drug addiction relapsed but ended immediately after Huma passed away in 2009.
“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.”
After the death of his first wife, Wasim Akram remarried and is now a father of three – two sons with Huma and a daughter with his second partner.
