The recently-released anthem for the eighth season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) has received mixed reactions on social media as fans share their love for the previous anthems. 

Curious to see which of the songs was the most loved by fans, Geo Super conducted a poll on its Facebook and Twitter accounts, and the numbers are in. 

Summary

Of the 661 people who voted at the time of publication of this story, an overwhelming majority felt that the best songs were released during what they called the “Ali Zafar era” of the first three seasons of the PSL during 2016 and 2018.

The second place was also given to Ali Zafar for his song Ab khel jamay ga, which many felt was the “OG PSL anthem” that set the bar so high that nothing else compared. 

Following this were the songs of the PSL 3, 4, 1, 7, 6, 5 and 8 respectively.

Complete breakdown 

The fans have spoken. There seems to be no space for a second opinion that despite the passage of time, fans are not likely to forget the “Ali Zafar era” any time soon. Of the 661 people who participated in the poll, 242 people claimed that all of Ali Zafar’s songs were their favourite. After that, many felt, the songs just didn’t meet the level set by Zafar’s anthems.   

An astounding 236 people claimed that their favourite anthem was the one released in 2017. This song — also sung by Ali Zafar — was felt by many to be the one that best matched the spirit and fervour of the PSL.  It has, in fact, become the unofficial tune of cricket in Pakistan.

Not surprisingly, the next anthem on the list was another Ali Zafar song, which was released as the official anthem for the PSL 3 in 2018. 47 people voted for Dil Se Jaan Laga De as their most loved anthem. 

Following the anthems sung by Ali Zafar, another fan-favourite was the 2019 anthem voiced by none other than the Pakistani heartthrob Fawad Khan. The anthem Khel Deewano Ka won 40 votes, and certainly seemed to have captured the PSL spirit with its catchy music and Fawad’s energetic performance. 

The fifth position in the poll was given to yet another song by much-loved Ali Zafar as 29 people voted for the first-ever PSL anthem to be their favourite. This brings the total count of votes in Zafar’s favour to an amazing 554 out of 661 votes.

With Ali Zafar’s songs established as the most loved of all, 26 people also voted in favour of the anthem sung by singing sensations Atif Aslam and Aima Baig. 

The song, Agay Dekh was produced by Abdullah Siddiqui — who also produced the anthem for 2023. A statement issued by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) last year said: Agay Dekh urges audiences to look beyond binaries of victory and defeat, and enjoy the game in its purest essence… the anthem pays tribute to everyone who waits excitedly for this time of year.”

The next anthem in line is Groove Mera, which featured Naseebo Lal, Aima Baig, and Young Stunners, and was the official anthem for the PSL 6. 17 of the voters pegged this anthem as their favourite.

Fans, although initially divided about the song, eventually came to love it and it has since gained many fans. 

Next in line was the PSL 2020 anthem, which was performed by some of Pakistan’s greatest singing sensations. With 16 votes, this song almost ties in with Groove Mera. 

Sung by Ali Azmat, Arif Lohar, Haroon Rashid and Asim Azhar, Tayyar Hain celebrates the homecoming of the T20 league, as it was the first season in which all matches were played in Pakistan.

Finishing up last, with 8 votes, was the latest anthem featuring Asim Azhar, Shae Gill and Faris Shafi. However, the low rating is understandable given the fact that it is still new and fans are yet to get into the rhythm of this anthem. It is well expected that as the season progresses and fans grow to attribute this song to the PSL, they will grow to love this too.