Fourteen years after their marriage, Wasim and Shaniera Akram continue to attract attention for their unusual love story and enduring bond.
Their relationship brought together two people from very different backgrounds. Wasim was already a celebrated Pakistani cricket star, while Shaniera came from Australia with a personality and identity of her own.
Over the years, however, their relationship has moved beyond public curiosity. Their children have grown, their lives have crossed continents, and their marriage has evolved with them.
Today, both describe friendship as one of the strongest foundations of their relationship.
An Unlikely Love Story That Defied Expectations
When Wasim and Shaniera married, their relationship quickly became a subject of public discussion.
People focused on their age difference, cultural backgrounds and Shaniera’s previous religious identity. They also discussed Wasim’s earlier marriage and his two sons, Akbar and Taimur.
Yet Shaniera says those issues never made her hesitate.
“When we got married, there were a lot of discussions that started out in the open, in the media. Like the fact that he was older than me, that we were from different cultures and I had earlier belonged to a different religion, or that he had been married before and that I was going to be the mother of his two boys,” says Shaniera.
“Not once did I consider any of this. It was just Allah’s will or destiny that made me feel that this was going to be an easy choice for me and I decided that I would go with it.
“My mother is a big believer in love finding its own path and she told me that it was better that I gave it a try rather than always have regrets. I mean I wasn’t going to miss out on the love of my life just because I was scared!” she laughs. “That’s one thing I am not — scared.”
That confidence also shaped the way Shaniera approached life in Pakistan.
She Didn’t Even Know Who Wasim Akram Was
When Shaniera first met Wasim at a gathering in Australia, she did not immediately recognise his celebrity status.
That changed after she moved to Pakistan and began seeing his face across billboards and public spaces.
“He did use that pickup line with me, that you know, I am a big deal. I told him that wasn’t going to work with me!” she says.
Once she experienced life as Wasim’s wife, however, Shaniera realised the level of attention surrounding their relationship.
“But yes, once I came to Pakistan, there he was, on all these billboards. I got so much attention from the people around me and I knew that it was because I was married to him. It made me determined to give the country someone that they could respect and love,” she explains.
“At the same time, I wanted to be who I was and if people still gravitated towards me, that was great. If they didn’t, that was fine too. Over the years, I have gotten a lot of love and I am very thankful for it.”
Despite the attention, Shaniera says she was never particularly starstruck by her husband.
“But I don’t get starstruck easily. What I did love was who he was, as a person. I mean, it’s been 14 years and I have devoted my life to our children and our home and I am still here, aren’t I?”
Fourteen Years Later, Friendship Has Become the Foundation
The couple marked their 14th wedding anniversary together at their Karachi home.
Wasim believes their relationship has improved with time, despite the challenges that come with marriage.
“We’ve celebrated in different ways,” smiles Wasim. “We have had 14 wonderful years together and I feel that things have only gotten better with time.”
Shaniera, meanwhile, believes marriages naturally move through different phases.
“Every marriage takes its time and you have your off years and your on years but I feel that if, after about 10 years, you have become best friends and enjoying your lives, you are likely to be together forever.”
That friendship has helped them navigate a lifestyle that often keeps them apart.
A Marriage Spread Across Two Continents
Wasim’s work has required extensive travelling over the years. His commentary assignments and other professional commitments have frequently taken him away from his family.
“Yes, the job is such; commentaries and gigs, here and there,” agrees Wasim. “It can be tough at times. Our daughter Aiyla is now 11 and I just spent a month and a half with her and it was great. Still, we as a couple know that this is part of our lives. Eventually, I’ll calm down but so far, it has been pretty busy.”
Shaniera says she travelled with him during the early years of their marriage. However, their family situation changed once their daughter reached school age.
“During the first five years of our marriage, I would join him wherever he went. But we both knew that there would come a time when Aiyla would be going to school and I wouldn’t be able to take her with me.”
Wasim also spent several years working in India, including his time with ESPN Star Sports and the Kolkata Knight Riders.
“Till 2016, I would be spending six to seven months in a year in India, working for ESPN Star Sports and also, when I coached the Kolkata Knight Riders.”
For Shaniera, adapting to life without her husband around was initially difficult.
“I learnt very early in my marriage that he would be traveling a lot. Initially, I would cry a lot and really miss him. I was young and going through all these emotions and in retrospect, I am glad that I did.”
She eventually built her own support network while raising the family.
“I was alone at home, raising the boys. I made friends with other moms whose kids were going to school with the boys and understood which shops to go to. Not too many people around me knew English so I learnt how to speak bits of domestic Urdu.”
When asked whether she also learned Punjabi, Shaniera had a typically playful response.
“No,” laughs Shaniera, while Wasim quips, “Only the swear words!”
Shaniera’s Journey Into Motherhood
One of the biggest adjustments in their marriage involved Shaniera becoming a mother figure to Wasim’s two sons.
Rather than seeing the responsibility as a burden, she describes forming an immediate emotional connection with them.
“When I met them, I think I fell in love with them more! I was smitten by them. I have such fun memories from when they were little.”
She eventually realised that being their mother meant more than simply being their friend.
“There was this stage when I realised that I needed to be their mom and not just their friend. I remember telling them that there will be times when you will hate me and will be screaming at me but that will just mean that I am doing my job right.”
“I told them that I will never leave you, never let you down but I will, at times, be hard on you and that will be just me being your mom. It’s the greatest gift that I can give you. I think, looking back in time, they realise this.”
As the boys grew older, Shaniera found another emotional challenge waiting for her.
“It just gets so hard as boys get older. You want to keep telling them what to do but you understand that you can’t and that they are now men who have to go off on their own.”
Wasim, meanwhile, says he never pressured his sons to follow his cricketing path.
“No, I was mostly traveling while they were growing up and cricket was the last thing on their minds,” he says.
“I never pushed them towards playing cricket. They could do whatever they wanted to do.”
Wasim Akram Looks Back at Cricket’s Changing Era
The conversation also turned towards Pakistani cricket and its changing place in the lives of younger generations.
Wasim believes poor performances can directly affect public enthusiasm.
“Yes,” he agrees. “When the team doesn’t perform well, the followers disappear.”
Shaniera sees the situation somewhat differently.
“I am a bit of a believer,” says Shaniera. “I think that people still want to support the team but they just don’t want to get their hopes up.”
She believes strong performances could quickly reignite public passion.
“If the Pakistani team started doing well again, people will be passionate about the game instantly. I mean, Pakistanis cannot not like cricket! It’s just that they have learnt to do other things in the meantime.”
For Wasim, watching Pakistan lose can be particularly difficult while working as a commentator.
“As a commentator, it can get tough when Pakistan is losing a cricket match,” says Wasim. “Your voice still needs to sound authoritative and you still have to speak passionately but deep down, you’re also feeling bad. All you can do is pretend.”
He remembers a time when Pakistani cricketers enjoyed almost unmatched public admiration.
“Yes, back in the 80s and 90s, entire families would be waiting in the hotel lobby waiting for the team to return after playing a match. They would queue up to get our autographs. We were their heroes, Captain Imran Khan and his entire team.”
Despite those memories, Wasim says he does not live in the past.
“No, not for the last eight years. I am very content with where I am in life. I played 21 years ago and that’s done, I can’t live in the past. You can’t change the past, you can only plan the future and you have to live in the present.”
Facing the Past With Honesty
Wasim’s autobiography, Sultan: A Memoir, explores both the highs and difficult periods of his life.
The book discusses his cricket career, personal tragedies, addiction and the match-fixing controversy that surrounded him.
Wasim says writing about those experiences required considerable reflection.
“Yes, they probably did. I was maybe 56 or 55 when the book came out and what was written in it was just what it was, the truth. A lot of the admissions in the book are brave, especially in the culture that we live in.”
“Writing the book was tough; to revisit not just the triumphs but also the trials and the tragedies of the past and then to meet Gideon, either in person or via Zoom, and sit with him for five, six hours.”
Shaniera believes the book’s honesty remains one of its strongest qualities.
“I think he might have gotten more upset that that was one of the main things that people focused on. That book is a beacon of truth and that is why he wrote it, not for fame or money. If tomorrow, someone comes to us with all these questions, all they have to do is read the book!”
She also says Wasim’s past never stopped her from falling in love with him.
“I don’t think when I was told, it was even a concern. I met him and fell in love with him. Whatever happened in the past has made him who he is now and who I fell in love with.”
When AI Declared Wasim Akram Dead
The couple also discussed an AI-generated video that falsely announced Wasim’s death.
Rather than allowing the fake video to upset them, Wasim responded with humour.
“Not at all,” says Wasim. “People were messaging me and asking me, ‘Are you dead?’ and I was replying, ‘Haan yar marr gaya (yeah bro, I died)’. It must have taken a lot of talent to create that video but it was just wasted on something that was so negative.”
Shaniera says the incident initially amused them, but it also highlighted a wider concern.
“I was sitting next to him and watching that video and finding it funny. Things like these happen and you can’t take them seriously. What scares me, though, is that the world is in a very vulnerable place and we should all be aware and educated about what is happening around us and what to trust.”
Shaniera Continues to Use Her Voice
Shaniera has also become known for speaking about everyday issues, including road safety, littering and healthy living.
Wasim appreciates her willingness to speak publicly when she believes an issue matters.
“These are all simple things that she has been vocal about. I see a lot of celebrities around me now being responsible and wearing seatbelts but to those who don’t: please do so, because you are a role model with millions of followers and you need to lead by example,” says Wasim.
Shaniera says her connection to both Australia and Pakistan shaped her public involvement.
“I am sorry if I caused any ripples,” says Shaniera, “but I consider both Karachi and Melbourne my homes. If I see something which could cost someone their lives or hurt them, I cannot not talk about it. So yes, I have spoken about things that I felt were important and also tried to make people more aware about staying fit and developing healthy eating habits.”
She also says her priorities have changed in recent years.
“I do want to thank my husband for never suppressing me and letting me have my own voice.”
Her time in Australia has increasingly centred on family life and raising Aiyla.
“I have also been in complete Mom mode while in Australia; cleaning the pool, cooking, getting the groceries, driving, taking care of the kids. It’s a lot of work and it’s kept me really busy!”
Faith, Fitness and Turning 60
Wasim recently performed Hajj and turned 60 during the pilgrimage.
Despite his age, he says he continues to feel physically strong.
“Yes, I used to get motivated by people around me who were maybe 70 or 80 and limping,” he says. “I thought that if they could do this, it should be a piece of cake for me.”
He also joked about seeing his birth year while filling out online forms.
“But yes, when I am filling out a form online and have to add my birthdate, I have to scroll down several times until the ticker stops at 1966!” Wasim laughs.
Shaniera believes age should not define a person’s lifestyle.
“I think a lot of people in Pakistan think 60 is old but actually, if you are mindful of your health, 60 is the new 40!”
Their life together also comes with plenty of unexpected moments.
Shaniera recalled discovering an old family video featuring her as a child. Her cousins later realised that the cricket player appearing in the footage was actually her future husband.
“We were recently cleaning my grandmother’s home who has passed away and we came across a video. I was perhaps nine years old in and my cousins and I had made a train and we were running around the sitting room while my father was watching cricket. My cousin squinted at the video and asked me, ‘Is that Wasim?’ And it was him, playing cricket!” She laughs.
After 14 years, the story of Wasim and Shaniera Akram has moved well beyond the curiosity that surrounded their wedding.
Their children have grown, their careers have taken them across borders, and their priorities have changed with time. Yet their relationship appears to have found strength in adapting to each new chapter.
For the couple, the secret may be simpler than the public expected: after years of love, family and life across continents, they have become best friends.
