The 2014 season of the Indian Premier League, abbreviated as IPL 7 or Pepsi IPL 2014, is
the seventh season of the IPL. The Kolkata Knight Riders are the champions, having won
the 2014 season. There are eight teams this season, one fewer than in 2013 after the withdrawal
of the Pune Warriors India. A part of this season was held outside India
after Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde denied the provision of security the league demanded
as it clashed with the 2014 general election. The tournament is jointly hosted by India
and the United Arab Emirates. 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.
The player auction took place on 12 and 13 February 2014. Unlike previous seasons, the
auction was in Indian Rupees rather than US dollars.
Background Hosting
On 14 February, Sanjay Patel, who is the BCCI secretary, told the media after the IPL governing
council meeting: "As far as possible our interest is to hold the IPL in India. Then, probably,
South Africa is the preferred venue at the moment." The initial part of the season was
held outside India, to avoid adding to the existing security demands for the 2014 Lok
Sabha Elections. South Africa, Bangladesh and UAE were initially shortlisted as alternative
venues. The BCCI working committee's meeting on 28 February decided that a final decision
would be taken once the schedule for the general election was announced as the BCCI wanted
to have as many matches as possible hosted in India due to pressure from the sponsors.
On 2 March 2014, it was reported that Sri Lanka, which was under fourth consideration
for hosting the matches, has been ruled out due to prospect of rains in the country during
the period. 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 has effectively been ruled out since
they wanted to host the entire tournament, leaving chances open for UAE and Bangladesh.
On 12 March 2014, it was announced that the tournament would begin on 16 April and at
least 16 matches will be played in United Arab Emirates till 30 April. From the 1st
to 12 May, BCCI has approached the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India seeking
permission to play IPL matches in India in cities where the polling has concluded in
the respective state. If it is not possible to play in India during this period, IPL matches
will be held in Bangladesh. All matches after 12 May, which is last day of polling for the
elections, will be played in India. No matches will be played on 16 May, given it is the
day for counting of votes for the general election. The final was played on 1 June 2014.
Schedule The schedule of the first phase of the IPL
2014 was announced on 19 March 2014. The first phase of the tournament consist 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.
From 2 May onwards the 36 games of the regular season and the 4 playoffs will be played in
India across 10 venues. Staff changes
Gary Kirsten signed up as Head Coach of Delhi Daredevils. Kolkata Knight Riders appointed
Woorkeri Raman as batting coach while Wasim Akram returned as bowling coach after taking
break for IPL-6. Royal Challengers Bangalore announced Daniel Vettori as head coach and
Allan Donald as bowling coach, while Trent Woodhill was appointed as batting and fielding
coach. Darren Lehmann was not able to continue with Kings XI Punjab due to his commitments
with Australian cricket team. Sanjay Bangar was appointed as Kings XI's assistant coach.
As former Indian cricket team captain Rahul Dravid decided to quit playing IPL after IPl
2013, Rajasthan Royals team management decided to appoint him as the Chief Team Mentor of
the Rajasthan Royals team. Insurance
Since this year's IPL will be played during the Lok Sabha Elections in the country, re-insurance
companies have asked to double the rates for insurance cover of IPL 7. The insurance cover
includes parties like BCCI, franchisees and media partners. The insurance companies expects
a high security danger threat during the elections period in the country. The companies are demanding
Rs. 140 million for a cover of Rs. 9 billion this year which is exactly double to the last
year price of Rs. 70 million. Broadcast
Times Internet decided to share IPL digital rights with STAR India giving StarSports.com
streaming rights alongside YouTube, which has been streaming IPL since its inception
in 2008. In the UK, ITV4 will show the league for the final time before Sky Sports takes
over in 2015. Willow Cricket carried coverage of the season in the United States.
Player auction
On 24 December 2013, the IPL Governing Council finalised the Player Regulations for the 2014
season. All teams were allowed to retain a maximum of five players and the rest of the
players had to be sent into the auction pool. Retention of players led to reduction of the
teams' salary cap by a fixed amount, regardless of the players' actual salaries. Some franchises
were unhappy with new retention rules. Each team had a starting salary cap of 600 million.
Three franchises retained the maximum of 5 players while Delhi Daredevils retained none.
This season's auction saw the introduction of several new rules. For the first time Indian
uncapped players were also into the auction. There is no minimum quota for catchment area
players restriction. All player fees was denominated in Indian rupees but overseas players may
choose to be paid in another currency. There was also introduction of the "rights to match",
which allowed teams to purchase a player from their 2013 squad in the auction by matching
the highest bid. The number of "rights to match" depends on the amount of players retained
by the team. Also, the players' salaries will not include their fees for participation in
the Champions League Twenty20. Teams who qualify will pay each player who represents them an
additional 10% of his IPL fee. Previously, players who qualified for the CLT20 with their
IPL team had to forfeit 20% of their IPL salary to represent another team.
On 27 January 2014 BCCI released a list of capped players to all the franchises which
would be available for the auction. This list had a total of 233 players from 10 countries.
On 29 January 2014 this list was updated to 244 capped players and 651 uncapped players.
On 6 February 2014, the final auction list was shortlisted by teams to 514 players. The
list was further shortened to 511 players after the withdrawal of 3 players. The highest
base price set was of Rs 20 million and the lowest of Rs 1 million. The auction took
place on the 12 and 13 February. 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. On 10 February
2014, an IPL spot-fixing report finding Meiyappan involved in betting was submitted to the Supreme
Court. However the Supreme Court allowed the auction to go through as per schedule.
A total of 154 players including 50 overseas players were sold. The list consisted of 80
capped players and 74 uncapped players. 127 players have previously been part of IPL teams.
66 players will represent the same side that they played for in 2013. 13 Right to Match
cards were used during the auction. Yuvraj Singh fetched the highest bid of 14 crore
while Dinesh Karthik was the second most expensive purchase at a price of 12.5 crore by Delhi
Daredevils. Kevin Pietersen was the costliest foreign player. Among uncapped players, Karn
Sharma was the most expensive at 3.75 crore. Many prominent Indian players and most Sri
Lankan and English players were unsold. Venues
The first leg of the tournament was hosted in the United Arab Emirates so that the competition
would not clash with the Indian elections, with the second leg to be hosted in India.
The MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai was removed as a venue due to a dispute with the
municipal authorities. Teams and standings
Top 4 teams qualified for the playoffs advanced to the Qualifier
advanced to the Eliminator League progression
Group stage
Fixtures
Playoff stage Preliminary
Final
Statistics Most runs
The player with the most runs at the end of the tournament receives the Orange Cap.
Source: Cricinfo Most Wickets
The player with the most wickets at the end of the tournament receives the Purple Cap.
Source: Cricinfo References
External links Official website
Tournament website on ESPN Cricinfo Series page on Wisden India