Darren Gough has criticised the decision to drop Kevin Pietersen, saying the decision was "absolutely pathetic".

The former England star said Pietersen deserved a chance to rediscover his form against Pakistan.

England selectors dropped Pietersen from the team for the two Twenty20 games and five one-day internationals against Pakistan, prompting a four-letter-word outburst by the batsman.

Gough rallied to the defence of Pietersen, who now faces an official investigation into his angry reaction on Twitter.

"He's England's best one-day player and what better way for him to get back into form than to go out against Pakistan and belt it," Gough said.

Gough said Pietersen needed to be a part of England's plans for their defence of the Ashes in Australia later this summer.

"If they don't take him to the Ashes, we might as well just give Australia the urn," Gough added, contrasting Pietersen's treatment with the way Australia has backed out-of-form players in the past.

"What would Australia have done? I didn't see them drop Mike Hussey when he was struggling. I didn't see them drop Michael Clarke when he went through a bad run of form."