"Dil Se Jaan Laga De" () is a 2018 song, written and performed by Ali Zafar and released by HBL Pakistan. It served as the official anthem of the third season of the Pakistan Super League.
Zafar collaborated with the PSL for the third consecutive time, and the anthem's theme was aimed to celebrate the moments of cricket. Its music video, featuring a number of players from the Pakistan cricket team, was released on the same day when the team topped the ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings.
Background and release Zafar hinted at the new song for the league through a tweet on 18 December 2017, when the previous PSL anthem, "Ab Khel Jamay Ga", reached 6 million views on YouTube. The anthem was officially announced by a promotion hashtag #DilSeJaanLagaDe on 28 December.
Zafar showed his excitement to perform the "PSL's official anthem for the third time" and felt "fortunate to live" the life of "cricket and music", though also expressed a challenge to surpass the reception of "last year's anthem". Upon sharing his personal thought process of song creativity, he called "Ab Khel Ke Dikha" as "introductory", "Ab Khel Jamay Ga" as "a dream", and this song a "celebration" that a "dream has been achieved". According to Maheen Sabeeh of The News, the anthem lyrically represents the moments during the game and the memories long after, while the pop fused music features electro influences.
The video shoot was confirmed by Junaid Khan on 22 December. Other players in the music video include Shahid Afridi, Misbah-ul-Haq, Umar Gul, Fakhar Zaman, Umar Amin, Babar Azam, Rumman Raees, Usman Shinwari, Faheem Ashraf, Amad Butt, Ramiz Raja, Shoaib Malik, and Ahmad Shahzad.
The anthem was released on 28 January 2018 by HBL Pakistan, the same day when Pakistani cricket team was ranked at top position in ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings. Zafar then also performed at the opening ceremony on 22 February in the Dubai International Stadium, and at the closing ceremony on 25 March in the National Stadium, Karachi.
Reception and legacy Dawn Images called its melody to be inspired by Coldplay, and said, "another tune we think we're going to have on repeat". The Express Tribune referred Zafar and his anthems as "voice and soul" of the league respectively. Asfia Afzal of Business Recorder said that the anthem "delves into the nostalgia" and "reminisces" in the national "cricket glory". Geo News criticized the absence of then national cricket team captain Sarfaraz Ahmed from the video. Darakhshan Anjum of RS-Tech said that "It seems that" Zafar "has begun this" anthem "from where he left the last one", as it has "left the public mesmerized." Maheen Sabeeh of The News International said that it has "a big, incredibly catchy sing-along chorus" and most impressive thing is that it "doesn't encourage aggression".
Later in 2024, Zafar returned to the PSL and performed this anthem at the opening ceremony as well, along with his two previous anthems. Journalist Arfa Feroz noted that these three were the "best PSL songs" in the legacy. In 2025, Ahmer Naqvi acknowledged in Dunya Digital that Zafar had the "most successful and popular PSL anthems" using "the power of the non-verbal chorus", however, called off his "repetition of words and themes". In 2026, Ali A. Rizvi of The Jungle Today called it a "fine" anthem, which is "perfectly competent" with "recycled" energy but "thoroughly forgettable".
See also
List of Pakistan Super League anthems Ali Zafar discography
References