As in the previous season, the tournament featured a qualifying stage, although with only two of the six teams competing in it qualified for the final stages, compared with three during 2011. This qualifying stages included a team from Pakistan for the first time, with teams previously excluded due to friction between India and Pakistan following the
2008 Mumbai attacks. Whilst in 2011 the fourth-ranked Indian Premier League team had played in the qualifying stage, this year's team,
Mumbai Indians, qualified for the final stages as the defending champions. ==Teams==