Bhubaneswar, Aug. 12: The unruly behaviour of fans during Barabati Stadium’s bow as a Twenty20 International venue last year is set to cost it thousands of seats.

The stadium’s capacity is set to face a cut ahead of its debut as an One Day International venue next year when India take on England. At present, the stadium can hold 45,000 people, which could be reduced to 41,000 before the two teams take the field on January 19, 2017.

Officials of the England Cricket Board today held a meeting with police and the Odisha Cricket Association officials in this regard and discussed several security measures for the match. There will also be more closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras inside the stadium to monitor the crowd.

The stadium drew flak from various quarters after spectators had thrown bottles onto the playing area during a T20 match between India and South Africa last October. The unruly behaviour had led to play being stopped for 30 minutes in two phases.

The police said the officials of the two cricketing bodies discussed security arrangements for the match with them and asked the authorities not to allow water bottles inside the stadium. The cops have also asked the stadium authorities to increase the height of the nets in front of the stands. They are also planning to cover the open galleries with nets for the first time.

“We will not allow spectators to bring water bottles. We will supply drinking water in the stands. We will also decrease seating capacity apart from printing numbers on all the tickets,” said association secretary Ashirbad Behera.

The police have also assured the board members of total security during the match. “This was a preliminary discussion. We will meet again with the stadium authorities. The board officials wanted to know about the security arrangements at the airport, hotel and stadium. We have assured them of proper security measures,” said police commissioner Y.B. Khurania.

Last year, Team India’s poor performance had provoked the crowd, which began throwing plastic bottles from gallery Nos. 2 and 4. South Africa won the match by six wickets. The incident had also forced the state government to conduct an inquiry.

Former cricketers Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar also expressed their disappointment over the incident. Gavaskar even suggested banning Barabati Stadium from hosting international matches for two years. The Board of Control for Cricket in India had also served a showcause notice to the association regarding the incident.