The Indian Premier League (IPL), the professional Twenty20 cricket league that was established by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 2007, ran its 14th season in 2021. It was also known as IPL 14 or VIVO IPL 2021 for sponsorship.
The two consecutive title-holding teams were the Mumbai Indians. Kings XI Punjab rebranded themselves to the Punjab Kings before the tournament.
The schedule of the tournament was unveiled by the BCCI in March 2021. The tournament started on April 9, 2021. Nevertheless, with the surge in COVID-19 infections among the bio bubbles of some teams, the tournament was suspended indefinitely on May 4, 2021. Thirty-one of the sixty matches scheduled at that time remained to be played. The BCCI announced on May 29, 2021, that the last matches of the tournament would be hosted in the United Arab Emirates during September and October of the same year. In July 2021, the rest of the tournament schedule was released.
Chennai Super Kings claimed their fourth IPL title by beating Kolkata Knight Riders in the final. Harshal Patel was the leading wicket-taker and was declared the Most Valuable Player of the tournament, and Ruturaj Gaikwad was the top run-scorer.
On 20th January 2021, the released players were announced. Among the released players, the most popular ones were Steve Smith, Aaron Finch, and Glenn Maxwell. The costliest Indian player of the 2020 auction, Piyush Chawla, was also released.
The player’s auction was held in Chennai on 18th February 2021. Chris Morris, the most expensive player, was bought by Rajasthan Royals for ₹16.25 crore (US$1.9 million). The most expensive Indian player was Krishnappa Gowtham; he was bought by Chennai Super Kings for ₹9.25 crore (US$1.1 million).