Former India captain Kapil Dev wants Imran Khan to take the reins of Pakistan cricket in the wake of the spot-fixing allegations.
Test captain Salman Butt and pace bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer were interviewed on Thursday over claims they bowled no-balls to order in the Lord's Test against England last week as part of a plot to defraud illegal bookmakers.
Kapil believes the former Pakistan skipper is the man to save the game in Pakistan.
Speaking to reporters at the inauguration of a chess tournament in Kolkata, the former star all-rounder said: "In this time of crisis, I can think of Imran Khan as the cleanest cricketer to look after Pakistan cricket.
"He can really pull the nation out of this controversy."
Khan yesterday dismissed calls for life bans on the cricketers found guilty in the case, saying hefty fines should suffice.
Earlier today, Pakistan team manager Yawar Saeed announced the three players at the centre of the allegations would be unavailable for the forthcoming Twenty20 series against England.
Kapil expressed his concern over the deteriorating situation of cricket in the neighbouring country, stating: "I really feel sorry for Pakistan cricket and cricketers.
"Nothing is going right for them at the moment. We don't want Pakistan cricket to die. They have produced some wonderful cricketers over the years."
He believes no judgment should be made about the cricketers in question, however, until the investigations are over.
"We should not pre-judge them. Let the right people investigate the matter. The guilty should be punished," said the 51-year-old, who retired from international cricket in 1994.
Kapil, who captained India to World Cup victory in 1983, wants people to focus on more positive aspects of the game while the investigation continues.
He said: "Never bet on cricket. Let's talk about the positive sides of the game. There are just a 2-3% involved in betting so we should not talk about them.
"We must talk about the remaining 98% who are doing so much for the betterment of the game.
"This game is really beautiful and very close to all of us, so let's not spoil it.
"Cricket is not the only sport. Let's think about other sporting disciplines also and take them to the level of cricket.
"However, this does not mean that we lower the value of cricket. Media should come forward and support every sport in the country."