NEW DELHI: Serious crowd trouble that twice interrupted India’s Twenty20 match against South Africa has sparked calls from former test captains Sunil Gavaskar and Bishan Singh Bedi for Cuttack to be dropped as an international cricket venue.

“There has to be a deterrent. You cannot allow that to happen,” Gavaskar told the NDTV news channel. “I’d imagine that the next time they are due for an international game, that should not be given to them. Quite clearly a strong message has to be sent.”

Trouble started when India was bowled out for 92 on Monday during the second game of a three-match series.

Plastic bottles were hurled onto the field during the innings break and play was twice stopped for more than 20 minutes.

South Africa finally completed a six-wicket victory with 17 balls to spare as local police struggled to keep the crowd under control.

Bedi took to social media to say international cricket should only go to centers where the game is respected.

“Cuttack shames Crkt & Self..Guidelines for crowd behavior need redefining by BCCI..International Crkt must go 2 people who respect the game!” Bedi posted on Twitter.

Respected TV commentator Harsha Bhogle said there were no excuses for the crowd’s misbehavior, even if people were unhappy with how the Indian team meekly conceded a 2-0 lead to South Africa with two lopsided losses.

“Disgraceful scenes in Cuttack,” Bhogle tweeted. “Nobody has a right to throw bottles onto the ground. Crowd performance worse than that of the players.”

South Africa T20 captain Faf du Plessis admitted he was surprised by the crowd disturbances, but India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni preferred to keep the situation in perspective.

“Frankly, from a safety point of view, I don’t think there was a very serious threat,” Dhoni told reporters after the match. “We didn’t play well. At times you get reactions like this, but we should not read too much into it.”

The Barabati Stadium at Cuttack has hosted two Test matches and 18 limited-overs internationals as well as some Indian Premier League games. It is not on the list of venues for the World T20 tournament starting next March.