March 22 will see the 17th edition of the India Premier League kick-off at Chennai's Chepauk stadium, with home team Chennai Super Kings, led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni - set to begin their title defence against Virat Kohli's Royal Challengers Bangalore.

At the start of the 2024 edition of the tournament, four teams are yet to win a trophy - Royal Challengers Bangalore, Punjab Kings, Delhi Capitals, and Lucknow Super Giants - and will be looking to rectify that.

With the Royal Challengers Bangalore women's team having won their maiden Women's Premier League trophy at the second time of asking, the pressure on Virat Kohli's men is set to be higher than ever this year, after years of failed attempts.

The start of the new season sees two changes in leadership, with Hardik Pandya taking over the captaincy at Mumbai Indians, while first-time captain Shubhman Gill fills in for the departed Pandya at Gujarat Titans.

Pandya's appointment has not been well received, with erstwhile team captain and current India captain Rohit Sharma still in the squad.

At the auction ahead of the 2024 season, Mitchell Starc broke the record for the most expensive player in the league's history after Kolkata Knight Riders shelled out Rs 24.75 crore for his services, while fellow Aussie Pat Cummins was sold to Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 20.5 crore.

Domestically, Harshal Patel became the most expensive Indian player after Punjab Kings signed him for Rs 11.75 crore, followed by uncapped batsman Sameer Rizvi, who was bought by Chennai Super Kings for Rs 8.4 crore.

So far, the BCCI has only released the first two weeks of the IPL schedule, with the rest of the schedule likely to clash with the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, voting for which is set to commence on April 19 and end on June 1. The cricketing body will coordinate with the government and security agencies to finalise the schedule for the rest of the tournament.

As of now, there will be 21 matches played in the first weeks of the schedule, with games taking place across 10 cities. Everyone except Delhi Capitals will be playing at their home ground, with the capital city outfit set to play in Visakhapatnam during the first leg of the tournament.