What is new in IPL 2019?

Few things never change in Indian Premier League. From Mahendra Singh Dhoni leading Chennai Super Kings to Royal Challengers Bangalore's struggle with their bowling, it usually has the same rundown over the years.

Yet IPL comes with some changes every year. Adding two new teams in 2011 or suspending Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings in 2016 changed the dimension of the tournament. 'DRS' and 'zing bails' are the new wave in the game. Last year Sandeep Lamichhane became the first player from Nepal to play the IPL.

Let us see what IPL has in store this year to shake things up. When a viewer watches something new, it adds excitement and freshness to the tournament.

#1 Three consecutive century stands from unlikely partners

David Warner seems to have no effect on the 1-year-ban. He is not the captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad anymore. Yet the batsman in him has only gotten better after missing out of last season.

Addition of Jonny Bairstow to the squad of Sunrisers Hyderabad has compensated the loss of Shikar Dhawan. Bairstow has grabbed the opportunity to become the opener with both hands. It's highly unlikely to see him out of the playing XI any time soon. In the first 2 matches against Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals, he took a back seat and gave most of the strike to Warner. But in the last match against Royal Challengers Bangalore, he was also in the spotlight alongside Warner.

The pair has crossed 100 in all the 3 games they have played so far. They now hold the record for the highest opening partnership(185 vs RCB) in the T20s. For the first time in IPL both the openers scored centuries. With Kane Williamson at number 3, Sunrisers Hyderabad seems to have the best top 3 in this season.

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#2 Ravichandran Ashwin 'MANKADING' Jos Buttler

Ashwin and Buttler during the incident.

IPL never encountered an incident of mankading in the past. No bowler ever tried to run out a batsman in this fashion. Kings XI Punjab captain Ravichandran Ashwin 'Mankaded' Rajasthan Royals batsman Jos Buttler, creating a huge controversy. This is the first incident of mankading in the IPL.

This was such a unique incident that we saw mixed reactions from people in social media. As it was given out by the 3rd umpire, Ashwin can proclaim himself right in this situation.

In another match, Mumbai Indians bowler Krunal Pandya stopped the bowling when he saw Mayank Agarwal out of his ground. Let's hope we get more clarity on such confusing rules in future so that any controversy will be avoided.

Yusuf Pathan was once given out for 'obstructing the field' against Pune Warriors India in 2013. No batsman has been given 'timed out' or 'handled the ball' out so far in IPL.

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#3 Umpire missing no-ball in the last ball

Malinga bowls a no-ball which umpire missed.

It's a common sight to see umpires do a no-ball check after any wicket falls. Umpires have missed no-balls before. But when S Ravi missed a no-ball in the last ball of RCB vs MI match, things became ugly. A match where all three results would have been possible with a no-ball call in due time. Virat Kohli went on to compare this to the level of club cricket.

This kind of error by an umpire was never seen before which has an immediate impact on the result of the match. Let the administrators take a lesson on this and with the help of technology such an error should be avoided in future.

Let's hope in the coming days we see some new innovations, tactics or style of play. These things make the game more exciting. It will be interesting if this year IPL finds a new winner. Delhi Capitals, Kings XI Punjab or Royal Challengers Banga winning this year will increase the competition in the coming years.