Widely considered as one of the best bowlers to ever play the Gentleman's Game, Wasim Akram played a key role as Pakistan lifted the 1992 World Cup. It was his 2 wickets in the final that changed the course of the match, but despite his achievements, the veteran revealed that he has had to endure a lot of abuse of late.
There was a time in his career when Akram was embroiled in match-fixing allegations, and the incident has tarnished his legacy, he feels.
The cricketer-turned-commentator revealed that he was called 'match-fixer' by Pakistani fans, more specifically young ones, those who use social media these days.
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Akram lashed out at the young fans on the launch of his biography 'Sultan Wasim Akram', while referring to the treatment he receives in other nations.
"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," said Akram speaking to Wide World of Sports.
He also added that he remains unfazed by the criticism he receives nowadays.
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"I have passed that stage in my life where I have to worry about people," added the legendary pacer.
The incident happened back in 1990s, when Ata-ur-Rehman had alleged that Akram offered him money to fix a game, while there were many other rumours, including one that Wasim Akram faked an injury to miss the 1996 World Cup quarterfinal match versus India.
As it turned out, Rehman was banned from the sport for life after the allegations were proven wrong.
