“They kept me for two-and-a-half months against my will” - Wasim Akram opens up on rehab nightmare after drug addiction

Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram has revealed that his horrible rehabilitation experience after falling into drug addiction made life worse for him. He recalled becoming rebellious after being forced to stay at a place for two-and-a-half months against his will.

In his memoir “Sultan”, the former left-arm seamer opened up in detail about getting addicted to cocaine post his retirement from the game. The death of his first wife Huma in 2009, however, forced him to relook at life and pick up the pieces again.

In an interaction on “The Grade Cricketer” YouTube channel, Akram stated that he agreed to go into rehab after discussions with his first wife. But the experience was far from ideal. He elaborated:

“I said, I’ll go there for a month, although they kept me for two and a half months against my will. Apparently that’s illegal in the world, but not in Pakistan. That didn’t help. When I came out that rebellion came into me. It was my money. Against my will, I stayed in that horrible place with a corridor and eight rooms. That’s it.”

On how he got into drug addiction, Akram disclosed that it all started in England. He stated:

“Somebody said, ‘you want to try it?’. I had retired and I said ‘let’s try it’ and eventually one line became a gram. Then I came back to Pakistan. Nobody knew what it (cocaine) was, but it was available. I realized I couldn’t function without it. It got worse and I was hurting my kids and late wife.”

Following the death of his first wife, Akram tied the knot for a second time. He married Shaniera Thompson, his Australian girlfriend, in 2013.

---

“If you are going to abuse a guy from sub-continent, go slow” - Wasim Akram’s sledging advice to Aussies

During the interaction, Akram also took a light-hearted dig at the Australians and their sledging methods. Advising them on how to sledge cricketers from the sub-continent, he quipped:

“My suggestion to young Australians is - if you are going to abuse a guy from sub-continent, go slow, so that we can understand what you are saying. We couldn’t understand a word."

Sharing an incident involving him and Inzamam-ul-Haq from the 1995-96 Sydney Test, he added:

“I was batting with Inzamam in the 1995-96 Sydney Test match. Warnie (Shane Warne), (Glenn) McGrath and Steve Waugh were having a go at him. I went up to Inzi and said, ‘don’t get angry because they are having a go at you’. He replied, ‘Really? I’ve no idea what they are saying’.”

Following a stellar career, Akram retired from the game in 2003. He played 104 Tests and 356 ODIs, claiming over 900 international wickets.