Jaipur, Feb 18 (IANS): After a gap of three years, Jaipur will host five league stage matches of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 in its iconic SMS stadium.

The 16th edition of India's premier T20 league will start on March 31 with defending champions Gujarat Titans taking on Chennai Super Kings at Ahmedabad.

As per the schedule announced on Friday, the first match at Jaipur will be played on April 19 between Rajasthan Royals and Lucknow at 7.30 pm, the second match will be between Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Kings on April 27 at 7.30 pm.

The third match at the SMS Stadium will be between Rajasthan Royals and Gujarat Titans on May 5 at 7.30. Rajasthan Royals take on Sunrisers Hyderabad on May 7 and Rajasthan Royals play Royal Challengers Bengaluru on May 15 in the fourth and fifth matches scheduled in Jaipur.

Hotel Association Jaipur president Gajendra Luniwal said, "Guests coming in Rajasthan will purchase garments, stones, gems, will visit tourist spots. So business worth Rs 500 crore will be coming."

"All classes of visitors come to watch these matches which give a direct boost to tourism and other businesses. As per estimates around 10,000 people visit Jaipur to watch these matches, So it's sure that such business will get a big boost," he added.

It needs to be added here that during the Covid-19 pandemic, IPL matches were held in UAE in 2020 and 2021 while they were played in Mumbai and Pune in 2022.