MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 24: Usman Khawaja of the Thunder plays a shot during the Big Bash League final match between Melbourne Stars and the Sydney Thunder at Melbourne Cricket Ground on January 24, 2016 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Robert Prezioso/Getty Images)

Former Australian Test opener Michale Slater has slammed Australian selectors over the apparent snubbing of in-form batsman Usman Khawaja.

Slater took aim at chief selector Rod Marsh, calling for him to be sacked.

Khawaja's absence form the ODI and T20 squads has left many scratching their heads, with the Test No.3 scoring 863 runs at an average of 123.29 in all forms of cricket over the past two months.

“It’s a joke, it’s a joke and the pressure should be mounting on Rod Marsh,” Slater said on the Big Sports Breakfast on Sky Sports Radio.

“There’s no great planning when it comes to some selections and there is no great logic when they leave someone out like Khawaja. So Rod Marsh should be in the sights.”

Khawaja is currently on tour with the ODI squad after receiving a call up due to the hamstring injury to Aaron Finch. Marsh's reasoning behind the decision to initially leave Khawaja out of the ODI side was that none of the batsmen who played during Australia's ODI series against India deserved to be dropped.

“I don’t care who you leave out, it’s a tough decision and they’ve made tough decisions over the years,” Slater said.

“The selectors need when you’ve got a guy in this sort of form, and he’s better than the guys in there, to make a tough decision.

“That used to be the mantra of Australian cricket, you just picked people who were in form, no matter who they were. The currency was making runs or taking wickets and you played.”