Hosting On 14 February, BCCI secretary
Sanjay Patel 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, had 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 was effectively 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 would be played in
United Arab Emirates until 30 April. From 1 to 12 May, BCCI approached the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India seeking permission to play IPL matches in India in cities where the polling concluded in the respective state. All matches after 12 May, which is last day of polling for the elections, would be played in India. No matches would be played on 16 May, 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 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). From 2 May onwards the 36 games of the regular season and the 4 playoffs were 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 (member of RCB squad, 2011–13) as head coach and
Allan Donald (Head coach of the former
Pune Warriors India in the last IPL) as bowling coach, while Trent Woodhill (former batting and fielding coach of Delhi Daredevils) 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 was played during the Lok Sabha Elections in the country, re-insurance companies 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 expected a high security danger threat during the elections period in the country. The companies demanded Rs. 140 million for a cover of Rs. 9 billion this year which is exactly double the previous year price of Rs. 70 million.
Broadcasting Times Internet decided to share IPL digital rights with
STAR India giving StarSports.com streaming rights alongside
YouTube, which had been streaming IPL since its inception in 2008. In the UK,
ITV4 showed the league for the final time before
Sky Sports took over in 2015.
Willow Cricket carried coverage of the season in the
United States. ==Player auction==