IPL 2014 Preview: All You Need to Know About Season 7 of Indian Premier League

The seventh edition of the India Premier League (IPL) will start on 16 April with defending champions Mumbai Indians taking on Kolkata Knight Riders in the inaugural match.

The biggest T20 league in the world will conclude on 1 June at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium, where the final will be played.

IBTimes UK brings you everything you need to know about this year's IPL.

The 2014 edition of the IPL will see only eight teams taking part after Pune Warriors were terminated from the T20 competition. The team owned by Sahara Adventure Sports were unable to submit bank guarantee for the Pune franchise, resulting in the termination of their contract by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

The eight participating teams are Mumbai Indians, last year's finalist Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kings XI Punjab, Delhi Daredevils, Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad.

This year's IPL schedule clashes with the ongoing general elections in India. Due to this the first few matches are played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

From 2 May the matches, including the play-offs and the final, will be played in different venues in India. Each team play nine matches on Indian soil, out of which four will be played in front of their home fans.

The Super Kings and Kings XI will play two of their matches at Ranchi and Cuttack respectively, which will be a home ground for these two teams. Rajasthan will play four matches at Ahmedabad.

The Qualifier 1 and Eliminator will be played at M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The Qualifier 2 and the final are scheduled to be played at Mumbai Indians' home ground, Wankhede Stadium.

Each franchise will play twice against each of the remaining seven teams. A team gets two points from a win while one point will be awarded to teams if a match is called off. At the end of 14 games, the top four teams will make it to the play-offs.

The teams that finish in the top four of the table will make it to the Champions League T20. Three teams will get direct entry into the tournament, while the fourth team will have to feature in the qualifiers before to seal a place in the Champions League T20.

Earlier this year, 514 players, both capped and uncapped, went under the hammer for being picked by franchises, though not all of them were selected.

See here the final team-wise list of players sold in this year's auction.

While Mumbai is looking to defend their title, the Super Kings would be keen on adding their third IPL title to their trophy cabinet.

Kings XI Punjab, the Bangalore franchise and the Daredevils have not won the event even once and they will give tough competition to the rest of the lot in the seventh edition of the IPL.