Former Australian cricketer Dean Jones was left surprised after Pakistan decided to leave out hard-hitting batsman Asif Ali from the 29-member squad selected for the England tour.

Asif was last part of Pakistan’s Twenty20 International (T20I) squad that lost the three-match series in Australia in November last year. He was left-out of the home T20I series against Bangladesh earlier this year, as well.

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Jones, in a tweet on Friday, argued that the Pakistan team management is not utilising the 28-year-old batsman properly.

“I have known Asif for a long time.. I know what makes him tick. He can also be used as an opener. Trust me, he can do various roles and is not just as a banger at the death," tweeted Jones.

The Faisalabad-born batsman played an instrumental role in securing the second Pakistan Super League (PSL) title for Islamabad United in 2018, under the coaching of Jones.

Pakistan is scheduled to take on England in three Tests and three Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is), which will be played in August-September.