PSL anthems over the years

It’s officially the PSL season in Pakistan, and cricket buffs all over the country are gearing up to support their favourite teams. On the same note, Twitter is all set to whip out the funniest memes and city banter, chai dhabas and restaurants too are ready to screen the most happening matches of the tournament – and like every year, the first buzz is around its anthem.

Sung by Atif Aslam and Aima Baig with Abdullah Siddiqui adding his touch to the production, the anthem sounds grand and even grander in the stadium. From the eh-oh’s throughout the song to the snappy beat that’s guaranteed to grow on you to a catchy chorus paired with Atif Aslam and Aima Baig’s vocals, there’s nothing one can complain about and yet people have made it a habit to criticise every anthem sung by singers other than Ali Zafar.

Over the years, the PSL anthems have had their fair share of highs and lows. While some received widespread acclaim from fans, others sparked debate and caused massive outrage that went to the extent of cancelling the singers. On other occasions, fans complained about the anthem being straight up boring and lackluster. And today, we’re taking you back to where it all started!

1. Khel Ke Dikha – PSL 2016
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Dubai hosted the inaugural edition of the Pakistan Super League on February 4 in 2016, and while Pakistani cricket got its overdue dose of international visibility, it was no less a moment for Pakistan celebrities to shine. With Ali Zafar being the pioneer of the first PSL anthem, the singer wrote and sang “Ab Khel Ke Dikha” for the first season of PSL, making the attendees and people back home fall in love with the anthem. The song was first performed in Lahore in 2015 at the Pakistan Super League’s logo release ceremony, with twenty-five male and female singers joining him as backing vocalists. A remix version and the music video came out, courtesy of HBL Pakistan, on which Zafar went on to perform in UAE and was met with praise left and right!

2. Ab Khel Jamay Ga – PSL 2017

After the success of the first season of PSL, the stage was set for yet another season and Ali Zafar literally beat his own song for the first season with Ab Khel Jamay Ga featuring several cricketers including Shahid Afridi, Misbah-ul-Haq, Umar Gul, Ahmed Shehzad and Ramiz Raja. Zafar also went on to perform the anthem at the opening ceremony of the Pakistan Super League in Dubai. The music video has amassed more than 18.5 million views since its release and is the most viewed PSL anthem to date.

3. Dil Se Jaan Laga De – PSL 2018

Opting for a rather slow number this time to spice things up, Ali Zafar scored his third PSL anthem and came up with Dil Se Jaan Laga De to remind people to take the celebration associated with PSL forward. Fused with electro influences and a big, incredibly catchy sing-along chorus, this was when Pakistanis started comparing the three anthems, finding it hard to decide which Ali Zafar number they loved the most. By the third season, Ali Zafar had become a name synonymous with PSL anthems, but following the accusations of harassing Meesha Shafi, this was the last anthem Zafar produced for PSL.

4. Khel Deewanon Ka – PSL 2019

Without Ali Zafar, there were a lot of speculations on who would sing the next PSL anthem and the honour was handed over to the superstar Fawad Khan who was joined by the rapper Young Desi to produce Khel Deewanon Ka. And while I personally loved the change of singers and the overall vibe, many didn’t echo the same sentiments. Fans had mixed reactions comparing Zafar’s anthems to the new anthem they’d gotten. But with time, the song grew on everyone and the whining softened, keeping the hardcore AZ fans aside.  Looking better than ever, clean shaved and having shaken off the Maula Jatt baggage, Fawad Khan had the crowd grooving to his performance alongside Young Desi in Dubai and the anthem wasn’t all that bad after all!

5. Tayyar Hain – PSL 2020

With PSL coming back to Pakistan entirely, along with it came the responsibility of tackling a local in-house crowd, something that the management wasn’t used to dealing with. Looking at the feedback the Fawad Khan anthem had gotten, the anthem was handed over to the music maestro Xulfi who collaborated with Asim Azhar, the legendary Arif Lohar, the iconic Ali Azmat and Haroon Rasheed. What came forward was Tayyar Hain which offered a variety in vocals, rhythm, tune and beat, but was the audience ready for it? Apparently not, because the anthem sparked massive outrage from fans, who like every year, were comparing the anthem to Ali Zafar’s and calls were made to remake the song with Ali Zafar as the lead singer, and he did, independently though, released the song Mela Loot Liya, for the love of cricket and his country. The singers who sang Tayyar Hain were so heavily trolled that some of them even posted an apology note for disappointing the fans.

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6.          Groove Mera – PSL 2021

The country witnessed the most controversial anthem last year which featured Naseebo Lal, Aima Baig and Young Stunners. The anthem was an amazing endeavour to celebrate the musical diversity of the country as it featured a mix of artists from contrasting musical spectrums of Pakistan – from regional to pop to hip-hop, the amalgamation of the three made for Groove Mera. The anthem created an uproar on social media with distasteful comments from people. Adding to that, cricketer Shoaib Akhtar also criticized PCB and its decision to make Groove Mera the official anthem of the season. The feedback was rather classist and partially racist too, so much so that Naseebo Lal broke out in tears and apologized when asked about the feedback on the anthem.

7. Agay Dekh – PSL 2022
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As if a norm, netizens also found themselves divided on this year’s PSL anthem, featuring the biggest musician of the country, Atif Aslam, the music protégé who made it to Forbes’ 30 under 30 list, Abdullah Siddiqui and one of the finest female vocalists the nation has, Aima Baig. A certain lobby of fans, like every year, took it upon themselves to reminisce over the first few PSL anthems.

Whether it’s PSL or the artists involved in making it happen, the goal is to unite the nation in the name of cricket and entertainment. It’s high time that fans stop comparing the anthems to each other because each one of them is unique in its own way and has a story behind it. There can be a team of Ali Zafar, team Atif Aslam, team Fawad Khan, team Naseebo Lal, but we are all ultimately part of one big team that we so fondly refer to as Pakistan.