The tournament featured eight teams,[1] one fewer than in 2013 after the withdrawal of the Pune Warriors India,[2][3] and was held from 16 April 2014 to 1 June 2014.
Kolkata Knight Riders won the tournament, defeating Kings XI Punjab by 3 wickets with Manish Pandey declared the man of the match in the final.
A part of tournament was held outside India as Indian Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde declined to provide security for the league as the tournament took place at the same time as the 2014 Indian general election.
The opening 20 matches were held in the UAE at three different stadiums in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah with the tournament returning to India on 2 May.
"[citation needed] The initial part of the season was held outside India, to avoid adding to the existing security demands for the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections.
[9] On 2 March 2014, it was reported that Sri Lanka, which was under fourth consideration for hosting the matches, had been ruled out due to prospect of rains in the country during the period.
[10] On 5 March 2014, when the dates for general elections were announced, IPL chairman Ranjib Biswal stated that 60–70 percent of the tournament would be held in India.
Also, South Africa as an alternate venue was effectively ruled out since they wanted to host the entire tournament, leaving chances open for UAE and Bangladesh.
[13] The first phase of the tournament consisted of 20 matches played from 16 to 30 April 2014 in the United Arab Emirates.
The opening match of the tournament was played between the defending champions Mumbai Indians and the Kolkata Knight Riders on 16 April 2014 at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi at 6:30 pm local time (8:00 pm IST).
[19] Darren Lehmann was not able to continue with Kings XI Punjab due to his commitments with Australian cricket team.
The insurance companies expected a high security danger threat during the elections period in the country.
On 6 February 2014, the final auction list was shortlisted by teams to 514 players (219 capped and 295 uncapped).
On 7 February 2014, a plea was filed in the Supreme Court to interfere in the IPL auction in relation to the 2013 Indian Premier League spot-fixing and betting case involving Gurunath Meiyappan of Chennai Super Kings.
[37] On 10 February 2014, an IPL spot-fixing report finding Meiyappan involved in betting was submitted to the Supreme Court.
[46] The MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai was removed as a venue due to a dispute with the municipal authorities.