Ali Zafar singing the next PSL anthem?

Music sensation Ali Zafar took to microblogging platform "X" to gauge public opinion on whether his singing the Pakistan Super League (PSL) anthem for season 9 would boost or harm the tournament's image.

Ali Zafar's musical journey with the PSL began in 2016 with his song, "Ab Khel Ke Dikha." The following year, he soared to new heights with "Ab Khel Jamay Ga," the league's record-breaking anthem released in 2018. In 2019, he sang "Dil Se Jaan Laga De," another powerful anthem for the tournament's third season. 

In his post on ‘X’ Ali Zafar wrote,“Do you think that if I did the anthem of PSL this year, it will enhance the image of the brand of PSL and PCB, deepen the connection with people, and bring more financial benefit to all stakeholders or will it prove to be otherwise? Be honest with your votes. I have no ego and I won’t mind.”

He further hinted at the real reason for the poll, to gauge the reactions of his opponents, who he believes have been running an organised campaign, compared to the people who genuinely support his success.

“I just want to see how the people of Pakistan think and what their wishes are vs a few individuals in positions of influence or power,” he added. 

Do you think that if I did the anthem of PSL this year, it will enhance the image of the brand of PSL and PCB, deepen the connection with people, and bring more financial benefit to all stakeholders or will it prove to be otherwise? Be honest with your votes. I have no ego and I…

— Ali Zafar (@AliZafarsays) January 12, 2024

Following the poll, the 'Jhoom' singer unveiled statistics exposing alleged manipulation by opponents who aimed to “rig” the results and harm his reputation.

Ali claimed that 27,000 votes on the poll were generated by bots, automated programs or softwares used to cast excessive votes without genuine engagement with his post. 

He revealed that the poll received 32,000 votes despite only having 5,000 impressions.

“Told you to wait to see why I started the poll  A clear bait that they fell for using any means or tools to show their influence and power over people’s opinion. Now let me expose the rigging in the polls factually. 32,000 votes were cast from 5000 impressions, meaning 27,000 votes were cast even without looking at the poll (by BOTS). Thank you for exposing yourself. Have a good night. This was fun. LOL,” the vocalist wrote on 'X'.

Zafar’s post accompanied two screenshots of the poll. They revealed that within just two hours, a significant number of votes against his PSL participation had been cast, which he claimed were inauthentic and likely generated by bots.

Told you to wait to see why I started the poll 😎 A clear bait that they fell for using any means or tools to show their influence and power over people’s opinion. Now let me expose the rigging in the polls factually.
32,000 votes were cast from 5000 impressions, meaning 27,000… https://t.co/7A4mHNEUPR pic.twitter.com/OUb0yFqCvV

— Ali Zafar (@AliZafarsays) January 12, 2024

Earlier in a post on 'X', he expressed his intention to pursue legal action against individuals engaging in malicious acts that aim to tarnish his reputation and hinder his career by threatening the organisations he's contracted with.

Presumably, Zafar hinted at the allegedly organised smear campaign against him given the past allegations of harassment and his fall out with singer Meesha Shafi, which resulted in a legal battle.