Coke Studio’s T20 anthem featuring Atif Aslam, Faris Shafi is a banger

After Pakistan’s unpredictable win against India on Sunday, everyone became perplexed with the confusion of not knowing how to celebrate a victory after numerous failures.

But Coke Studio’s new song, Cricket Khidaiye, helped. Resonating with it was a bit difficult when it came out, but after the match, it hit right in the feels. The song not only felt timely and relevant to contemporary music standards but is also featured a dramatic fusion of Punjabi rap and pop.
The anthem brings an exciting collab of the three heartthrobs, Atif Aslam, Faris Shafi and Talal Qureshi.

Apart from the Bol superstar, it was a debut performance by Faris and Talal for Coke Studio. The upbeat and groovy number added to the track’s uplifting lyrics and brought forth our previously tossed aside jazba (zest) for cricket. The Aadat singer and the seasoned rapper essentially manifest a successful win for Pakistan’s cricket team in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

The talented composer Talal Qureshi has outperformed himself. The composition is complemented by a well-written rap and the Punjabi accent nails it all.

Watching Atif in his rapper avatar is a heavenly treat! His versatility is commendable. However, the Pakistani rap god, Faris has taken the bait here. Faris, with his phenomenal flow, has been the backbone of the Pakistani rap industry for a while. However, his solo rap is graphic, political and often intellectual.

Hence, it was always risky for any corporate giant to endorse it. Yes, Cricket Khidaiye is safe but Faris Shafi is a safer choice for any kind of rap. With Young Stunners’ Why Not Meri Jaan and Coke Studio’s Cricket Khidaiye, 2021 might be the year for the Pakistani rap industry.

The catchy rap throwbacks to the history of Pakistani Cricket are awe-inducing. Atif and Faris share a verse that is reminiscent of Pakistan’s 2009’s epic T20 win and wishes that 2021 is the year we bring it back. Atif singing Mitti ka maan rakh le was granted as a wish and kudos to Babar Azam and his team for living up to the song and the nation’s pride.

The Punjabi rap song also paraphrases the iconic dialogue, tum jeeto ya haaro, humein tumse pyaar hai with Atif singing Chaahe tu jeete hare, dil mai rahegi teri jaga. We all believe in lucky charms, don’t we?