Image courtesy of: Times of India

The inaugural match of the 2014 IPL season will feature the Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders

The first 20 matches of this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) will be held in the United Arab Emirates, according to the tournament’s organisers.

The first match of the 2014 IPL season will feature the Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders and will take place in Abu Dhabi on April 16.

According to sources, the first match of double-headers will begin at 14:30 local time (10:30 GMT), while the second game will start at 18:30 local time (14:30 GMT).

The first phase of the IPL was moved to the United Arab Emirates after the Indian government stated that they could not afford to send any security units to oversee the matches in India due to the elections.