Imran Khan said that the ICC was right to suspend the three players but the age old problem was not only confined to Pakistan.

But he said if the players were found to be involved in betting on the timing of no balls rather than match-fixing they should face a huge fine and suspension rather than a lifetime ban.

Test captain Salman Butt and bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer were released without charge after being questioned under caution by detectives at Kilburn police station in north-west London.

The ICC has already charged them under their anti-corruption code and provisionally banned them from playing in any match and Khan said the suspension was the "correct move" for two reasons.

He told the BBC: "Whenever someone comes under a huge allegation like that, a devastating allegation like that, I think it's only right they should pull out until their name is cleared."

He also said it would have been impossible for the players to play under the "huge pressure" in front of a crowd including the British Pakistani community who were "extremely humiliated and angry".

But Khan said while match-fixing should receive an immediate life-ban, bowling no-balls to order was a lesser crime.

He said: "In my opinion one crime is much bigger than the other. One crime where you actually betray your country by throwing a match is a life ban.

"For sport fixing it could be a punishment where you give the signal that crime does not pay, a huge financial loss to the player and then a limited time ban."

Khan said he felt sorry for 18-year-old fast bowler Mohammad Aamer but there could be no exceptions in terms of a punishment.

He said: "An 18-year-old still knows what is right and what is wrong.

"In this case my heart goes out for this young cricketer because purely in cricketing terms he is the most exciting young cricketer the cricketing world has seen for a long time.

"I'm afraid if someone is implicated (in such crimes) you have to give them exemplary punishments to stop this from happening again."

He said corruption in cricket reflected a wider corruption in Pakistani society.

And he said, with the problem of terrorism in Pakistan and the floods, the betting scandal was "almost the last straw" for the people, adding: "I've never seen people so demoralised."

The comments came as the legal adviser of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said the three players had confirmed the businessman at the centre of the allegations, Mazhar Majeed, was their agent.

Legal adviser Tafazzul Rizvi also told private television channels in Pakistan that Butt, Asif and Aamer would have to fight their cases on their own if they appealed against their provisional suspension by the ICC.

The three players have maintained their innocence amid claims Majeed accepted £150,000 to arrange for Pakistan players to deliberately bowl no-balls during last week's fourth Test against England at Lord's.

The Metropolitan Police said it could not confirm whether the players had acknowledged their relationship with Majeed, while an ICC spokesman said it was a matter for the PCB and there was no comment.

Imran, however, also made the point that bookmakers and betting in cricket was nothing new and had been going on for years now.

"And the trail always leads to India because the real betting mafia operates out of Mumbai. I remember when we used to tour India, we used to hear a lot about how players had been approached by bookmakers to fix matches," he said.

He also recalled how in 1988 during a tournament in Sharjah, a bookie had called him up late night and informed him that four of his players had been bought by bookies and would underperform in next day's final.

"I just went out next day and warned the team I was keeping a close watch on them and if I even suspected someone had not given his best, he would not only never play for Pakistan again but be put behind bars," he said.

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