Wasim Akram breaks the silence; opens up about controversies in Pakistan cricket in his book

Whenever Wasim Akram was in action on the cricket field, it was an exciting sight for the spectators. Be it his powerful strokes with the bat or his superbly controlled swing bowling at high speed, he was a dangerous opponent for any competitor. His tall and sturdy frame and his long flowing hair made him a sight to behold. But he also played during the great crisis of Pakistan cricket when match-fixing was common. He had not revealed his opinion at the time, but now he has brought out his own version of the events in his autobiography titled Sultan. Wasim used to be called the Sultan of Swing.

The book begins by describing Wasim’s childhood in the locality of Mozang in Lahore. Wasim grew up there along with his older brothers Naeem and Nadeem. He also had a younger sister named Sofia. Funnily enough, one of the first cricket teams he represented was called The British Government. The boys who started the team thought that the name British Government would be an impressive name for a cricket club!!

His first cricketing hero was Imran Khan who helped his career flourish. But despite the talented players, the Pakistan team always performed below expectations.

Wasim candidly writes, “People complain that the Pakistan team is not consistent. But the country itself is not consistent. Nothing happens the same way twice. There is no institution you can trust. I played under 13 different captains, ten different coaches and nine cricket board chairmen under He attributes the team’s inconsistency to the rapid changes that always occur in Pakistan’s cricket system.

Later in the book, he also brings up the match-fixing issue that arose at the peak of his career. In a chapter titled “Dirty Money”, he writes: “My first inkling of the corrupt undercurrents was before the Austral-Asia Cup final in 1990. Rumors began to circulate that some Pakistani players had been paid to destroy their team.” When word reached Imran Khan, he called his team together and told to them directly that the £14,000 the team had already won would only go to the players if they continued to win. If they lost, they would not get a penny. The ploy worked and Pakistan won the trophy.

Wasim writes that while Imran Khan and Javed Miandad had different ways of looking at things, they were both uncompromising in their integrity. This strengthened the players. Without their strong leadership, things could have turned out much worse. Even then, there was often suspicion in the team. The players were suspicious of each other and therefore could not be genuinely friendly with each other. It affected the team’s morale and fighting spirit.

Later, when Saleem Malik was the captain, his questionable decisions and Pakistan’s stunning losses added fuel to the fire. Malik was eventually banned, but by then a lot of damage had been done to Pakistani cricket. In the intense spotlight and media glare, a situation arose where every player thought only of their own safety and pointed fingers at others, including Wasim. It completely destroyed team spirit. Random decision-making by the Pakistan Cricket Board and its selectors added to the chaos and confusion. It took several years before some sort of order and trust was restored.

After Wasim had finished playing, he was happy as a commentator with his old friends Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri and Harsha Bhogle. He also served as the bowling coach of Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL. But in 2009 he lost his wife Huma. The posthumous diagnosis was that he had suffered from a condition called mucormycosis, which had not been correctly diagnosed by doctors in Pakistan.

His rapid decline had made Wasim decide to transfer him to a hospital in Singapore. But when he suffered a cardiac arrest on the flight, the plane was diverted to Chennai. They arrived without the required visas and permits. But the Indian authorities dropped all demands and Apollo Hospital waived the payments. “I will never forget their kindness,” writes Wasim. But despite everyone’s best efforts, Huma died due to multiple organ failure. He was only 42 years old then.

Wasim later married Shaniera Thompson, an Australian woman, who established his family life the way Huma had done before. Now her two sons Tahmoor and Akbar are doing well at university in the US and her seven-year-old daughter Aiyla is also an early learner. His wife urged him to write his memoirs so that his fans around the world would know the facts about his life and career. The results of his efforts can be read in this gripping story of one of cricket’s all-time greats.