PCB’s Najam Sethi says his son Ali Sethi won’t be singing PSL 8 anthem due to ‘conflict of interest’

If 2022’s mega-hit song ‘Pasoori’ got up your hopes that Ali Sethi would sing the anthem for the PSL season 8, we hate to break it to you but PCB’s Najam Sethi says that’s not in the cards.

On Friday, the PCB chairman revealed the PSL schedule during a press conference where a reporter called Ali’s song and voice an “international phenomenon”. He brought up the rumour that Ali’s father was “depriving a popular voice” from singing the PSL anthem this year.

“Look, it’s a very sensitive issue and even I’m upset about it, perhaps Ali is as well. He came with the company with whom he sang ‘Pasoori’ for the PSL’s anthem. Usman and everyone else was discussing bringing Ali and of course, he wanted to be here and they wanted him to sing. But look at my position,” said the chairman.

He said half the people would say Ali is “the best talent” but the other half would say “it’s not right or appropriate and that it’s conflict of interest, wondering how much I would’ve paid my own son, so on and so forth. So no need to be a part of a controversy,” he reasoned.

He added that Pakistan has a lot of other talent who could sing the anthem for PSL season 8 and as for his son, he can sing when he is no longer a part of the PCB.

Ali’s ‘Pasoori’ became a global phenomena last year. So much so, it became the most streamed Pakistani song of 2022 on Spotify. Since its release, the Coke Studio Season 14 song has been heard more than 201 million times on Spotify and the music video watched 499 million times on YouTube. With never-ending success, we admit it came as a disappointment that the ‘Ghazab Kiya’ singer won’t be singing the anthem this year.

Previously, Aima Baig, Atif Aslam and Abdullah Siddiqui collaborated for PSL 7’s ‘Agay Dekh’, Baig, Naseebo Lal and Young Stunners’ ‘Groove Mera’ for the 2021 edition, Ali Azmat, Asim Azhar, Arif Lohar and Haroon for ‘Tayyar Hain’ in 2020 and Fawad Khan and Young Desi for ‘Khel Deewano Ka’ in 2019. Before that, Ali Zafar sang ‘Dil Se Jaan Laga De’, ‘Ab Khel Jamay Ga’ and ‘Ab Khel Ke Dikha’ for the anthem.