Abhijit Kale has strenuously denied the allegations

Ex-India captain Kapil Dev and former Test opener Arun Lal believe Kale has been dealt with appallingly.

Kale has been suspended pending an investigation he offered 1m rupees (�12,800) to two selectors in exchange for a place in the India Test squad.

Kapil said: "If he is not proven guilty, I wonder how the BCCI will compensate him."

I feel for the young man. I've been through all this and support Kale completely Kapil Dev

The Board of Cricket Control in India has ordered a probe into the cash-to-play scandal and will meet in an emergency session in New Delhi on Sunday to discuss the case.

Kapil, who himself was involved in a match-fixing scandal in 2000 but eventually cleared, questioned the decision to ban 30-year-old Kale from playing until the investigation was complete.

Kapil added: "I feel for the young man. I've been through all this and support Kale completely."

Lal, now secretary of the Indian Cricket Players Association, said he hoped Kale would get the same legal support as the BCCI.

He said: "He is an integral part of Indian cricket and therefore it's only fair the BCCI appoint a lawyer for the accused as well."

News archive: Kale protests innocence

Kale said he was totally innocent of the allegations and has been cleared by his state body, the Maharashtra Cricket Association.

The BCCI is set to give its ruling within the next two weeks.

The scandal is the biggest to hit Indian cricket since the match-fixing saga in 2000 which led to life bans for former captain Mohammad Azharuddin and ex-Test player Ajay Sharma and five-year bans for fellow internationals Ajay Jadeja and Manoj Prabhakar.

Azharuddin and Jadeja are contesting their bans in court, and the Delhi High Court allowed Jadeja to take part in domestic cricket pending a final judgement.

Kale is a highly successful batsman at domestic level, having scored more than 6,800 runs at an average of 58.67, including 24 centuries.

His only international experience came in April when he played in a one-day game against Bangladesh in Dhaka, scoring only 10 in a nine-wicket Indian win.