“It's not as if he was washing it by hand” - Saleem Malik responds to claims that he made Wasim Akram clean his clothes

Former Pakistan captain Saleem Malik has responded to claims by Wasim Akram in his memoir 'Sultan' that he made the legendary cricketer clean his clothes. He also rejected allegations made by the latter, terming him "negative" and "selfish".

Akram has made shocking claims against Malik in his book. Lashing out at the 59-year-old, he alleged that Malik made him give massage and also instructed the cricketer to clean his clothes and boots. Akram has written in his book:

"He would take advantage of my junior status. He was negative, selfish and treated me like a servant. He demanded I massage him, he ordered me to clean his clothes and boots."

Responding to the allegations, Malik defended himself and dismissed the claims. Asked whether he used to order Akram to clean his clothes, the former right-handed batter was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan:

"It's not as if he was washing it by hand (he used the washing machine)."

On being termed selfish and negative by Akram in his book, Malik replied:

"If I was-narrow minded, I would not have given him the chance to bowl. I will ask him why he wrote such remarks about me."

Malik made his international debut in 1982 and went on to represent Pakistan until 1999. His career came to an end after he was banned over allegations of match-fixing. Akram entered the international arena in 1984 and went on to represent Pakistan until 2003.

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“Was trying to call him but he did not answer” - Saleem Malik on Wasim Akram’s allegations

Taken aback by his former teammate’s allegations, Malik claims that he even called Akram, but got no response. The 59-year-old stated:

"I was trying to call him but he did not answer. I will ask him what was the reason for writing what he did.”

Akram has opened up on a number of controversial aspects of his life in his memoir 'Sultan'. He has also admitted to getting addicted to cocaine.

Speaking about the dark chapter, he revealed during a recent interaction on “The Grade Cricketer” YouTube channel:

"In England, somebody at a party said 'you wanna try it?' I was retired, I said 'yeah'. Then one line became a gram. I came back to Pakistan. Nobody knew what it was but it was available. I realized, I couldn't function without it, which means I couldn't socialize without it. It got worse and worse.”

Regarded as one of the greatest cricketers ever, Akram played 104 Tests and 356 ODIs for Pakistan, claiming 414 and 502 wickets, respectively.