Former Aussie cricketer Dean Jones believes the way Cricket Australia have treated Andrew Symonds is "disgraceful".

Symonds was booted out of the squad for the ongoing ODI series against Bangladesh after going fishing instead of attending a team meeting, and is now in serious doubt for the trip to India in October as he takes time-out to decide on his future.

"All he has done is miss a team meeting," Jones said on Radio 2GB. "For God's sake, We send him home and then throw him to the dogs. I think it's disgraceful.

"Jeff Thomson and Dennis Lillee did some awful things in their time. It's not as if he's hit anyone or racially abused anyone."

However erstwhile Aussie Test batsman Doug Walters is not as forgiving as Jones, labelling Symonds as a "bit of a liability".

Walters said in the Courier-Mail: "I certainly think he must start toeing the line more than he is doing at the moment.

"Whether he likes it or lumps it, he is a public figure and he should start acting like one. I certainly hope he does start toeing the line because we need a player like Andrew Symonds in the side."

Meanwhile, former Australian captain Greg Chappell reckons a break away from cricket will do Symonds some good.

"There are a lot of stresses away from the field. The constant focus of attention on everything that you do, anything that goes wrong will be highlighted," Chappell told AAP.

"Learning to deal with all of that and understanding how it fits into a successful career and a successful team is a very important part of the mentoring role.

"Hopefully he decides playing for Australia is very important because he is a terrific cricketer and we all want to see him playing for Australia as long as possible."