The cricket legend, Wasim Akram heart wrenchingly related, through tears, the trauma that he underwent when his late wife Huma Akram, passed away, not afraid to defy the “alpha male” image.
Wasim Akram is a Pakistani cricket commentator, coach, and former cricketer and captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. He Is regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time, as well as one of the greatest left-arm fast bowlers in cricket history. He is often revered as The Sultan of Swing.
He is loved not just in Pakistan but also loved across the border and all over the world. His life story has been one of great intrigue, success, heartbreak, and a ferocious comeback. In a recent interview with TV host Fakhr e Alam on A Sports, he broke down sharing one of the most painful memories of his life. And while he did that, he also shared bittersweet memories about a person he credits his current self to.
If you are still guessing who? It’s his late first wife, Huma Akram. He lovingly credited: Huma changed my life! What I am today is because of her efforts.
How He Met His Late Wife, Huma Akram
He revealed that none other than the skipper, Imran Khan was the reason behind it. He had taken him to a party in Karachi where Huma was present, who at that time must have been 18/19 years old while he was 20 or 21. They got to know each other and he would call her at times when in Karachi. He fondly remembered Huma was a very busy girl, pretty, funny, right in the thick of things, the life of the party. “Eventually we started liking each other, I used to stay for 3 months in Karachi”. He revealed
She even went to Australia to visit him when he was playing the 1992 world cup while she was a Psychology major at UCL in the UK. Their sighting together by her family friends led to him sending a proposal and them getting married. He shared: “The secret to success of a relationship is very – don’t lie, simple because you will get caught.”
How She Was Hospitalized While He Was In South Africa For Champions Trophy
Wasim was in South Africa for the champions trophy and his wife was in Karachi with their children to see their grandparents. When she returned to Lahore, they all complained of a sore throat. The children soon recovered but she didn’t. She eventually ended up at a hospital while he was still not back in Pakistan.
The emotional, heart-breaking story of his wife’s passing was clearly not easy for him to share. He says that till today, nobody really knows and knew what happened and that’s the problem. They thought her to be just suffering from a sore throat and eventually, it led to multiple organ failure. He mentioned that he he didn’t want to blame anybody but perhaps the doctors weren’t able to diagnose her properly. It’s a long story, he shared, but they were the worst days of his life.
He says we didn’t have much back then and they had to book an air ambulance to Singapore which he got to know cost 70,000$ in those days. But he managed to get one for her somehow with whatever savings he had at the time.
Her Last Words In The Air Ambulance Which Left Him Crying
He said he remembers her last words in the air ambulance before she passed out, “she said mujhay pain horai hai, where is my husband? I said I am right here, I held her hand and she closed her eyes, I started crying and thought she has slept. The medics from Singapore tried to revive her, I don’t know what happened.”
As they landed in Chennai for a refuelling, they didn’t have the Indian visa and that was another worry so as the plane parked on the runway, he came out crying and the people around recognized him and asked what had happened, when they got to know the situation they told him “aap visa ke fikar na karay and ordered an ambulance, visa hum baad mai kartay hain. They kept her in the ICU for 4/5 days but she did not regain conscious.
This was the moment, he couldn’t fight back his tears any longer. As he got teary eyed, he shared: “My kids were 7 and 10, I was a typical Pakistani dude and it was tough. A lot of people helped me. They didn’t know anything, they were at her friends house for 3 days, then they came home and I told them but they didn’t understand….they were too young.”
What Helped Him Move Forward When He Had Been Depressed For The Longest Time
Another important thing that helped him in moving forward, he said he remembered what his late wife had said: “When she was sick, she said 1 or 2 times, if something happened to me what will happen to the kids? I was depressed for a long time but my friends helped me. I realized life has to go on for these two boys – I never looked back, I made healthy lifestyle changes, mindset changes, and Abbas (his house help) ka bara zaroori part hai iss may.” He says then onwards, his wife’s words stuck with him about how life has to go on for the kids sake and that was it, and he rebuilt his from scratch!
Lessons We Can Learn From Wasim Akram
Wasim Akram, the cricket legend who battled on the ground and in his personal life with his recent revelations has left people particularly in awe of his strength despite his griefs. It also shed a new light on the alpha male figure and it’s so important because it is helping many realise how crucial it is to know that men too struggle with loss and grief in life and need just as much support. He shared a very dark moment in his life and it spoke on so many levels. Being the widely known “Alpha Male” figure, he has passed on a great message for other men on how men too can open up and share their grief, talk about it, cry about it and accept that they too struggle emotionally. It is okay for men to cry, to feel and share. This is the biggest takeaway from Wasim Akram’s recent interview.
He also helps touch upon the cause and significance of mental health for men, how circumstances in life lead men to suffer emotionally and mentally and its brave to open up, accept it and talk about it. We hope this gives many other men the courage they need to ask for help.
Wasim Akram’s story of loss and grief is also a lesson in resilience to many young people. Despite having lost his wife and having left behind the career he knew since he could remember, even after suffering so much, he realized he had to swim and not sink. He remembered the wise words of his late wife, he held onto his greatest friends and allies at the time and found his reason to be better: his two young sons. He suddenly became a single father, a concept still foreign to many in our society at the time and rebuilt everything from scratch; including his life, his career and his health.
Wasim’s recent revelations leave us inspired and in awe of this legend. We hope his story of eventual triumph sends out valuable messages to many young people who might be going it alone in tough times!
