The seventh edition of the Indian Premier League Twenty-20 cricket tournament begins tomorrow. In the opener, defending champions Mumbai Indians will lock horns with Kolkata Knight Riders in Abu Dhabi at 8 PM Indian Time.There are eight teams participating this season, one less than last year. Pune Warriors India withdrew from the tournament last year over financial differences with the BCCI.This year, the tournament is being jointly hosted by India and the UAE. A part of this season is being held outside India, as the General Elections are underway. The first 20 matches will be held in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah, and the tournament will return to India from the 2nd of next month with a match between Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata at Ranchi.The auction for this year's IPL took place in February. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir were retained by their old teams, while Delhi Daredevils and Kings Eleven Punjab included plenty of new faces. Yuvraj Singh stole the show as he went to the Royal Challengers Bangalore for a whopping 14 crore rupees. Dinesh Karthik, who was bought by Delhi for 12.5 crores, also made headlines. Kevin Peitersen, Ross Taylor and Quinton De Kock to Delhi, Virender Sehwag, Mitchell Johnson, George Bailey and Glenn Maxwell to Punjab, and Michael Hussey and Corey Anderson to Mumbai, were some of the other important transfers this season.