Former England captain Nasser Hussain has told Sky Sports James Anderson and Stuart Broad deserved better, while England's interim managing director Andrew Strauss says: "I hope they understand".
On Tuesday, Anderson and Broad were surprisingly left out of England's 16-man squad to face the West Indies in next month's Test series.
With 640 wickets in 169 matches, 39-year-old Anderson is the most prolific and experienced seamer in Test history, while 35-year-old Broad is close behind with 537 wickets in 152 appearances.
Hussain, who captained England between 1999 and 2003, labelled the decision to omit them "a big call" and said he felt Broad and Anderson deserved better.
"There was a lot of talk about maybe one of them being left out, not both, so it's a big call from Andrew Strauss," Hussain told Sky Sports on Wednesday.
"Well that decision [to retire completely] is now obviously in Broad and Anderson's hands.
"They're very proud cricketers, and it's not easy at their age to suddenly have a massive gap, and I really feel for Broad and Anderson, I have to be honest.
"I think they deserved better. The toil and the pain and the sweat and the hours in the gym to get to where they are, get back to fitness after carrying injuries.
"They know they've not got long left, they know it might be a matter of months or a year maybe, and they would want to play every cricket possible to make sure they are there right at the end of their careers and can say, 'I got as much out of myself as I possibly could'.
"I do feel for them, and they're proud men. They may say, 'Okay thank you very much, we'll go into other things', who knows?
"I hope this isn't the end, because I think they deserved better.
"From what I've seen of them, they like to have a point to prove, the pair of them.
"I'd love to see them in the summer and the skipper has had to call them back in and chuck them that ball.
"If they were a dwindling force, then I'd say 'yeah it's time to move on'. But they are not. They're bowling as well as ever and some opposition batters will be pleased they're not on the teamsheet.
"The problem in Australia was not Anderson and Broad, and it wasn't Joe Root at No 4, and they're the two major things that are changing for the next tour.
"Strauss is a very good man. He's reset things in the past and got it right. Lets hope he's got this one right."
When asked if he thought the decision to omit Broad and Anderson may have been related to Root's captaincy and a dressing-room culture, Hussain was strong in response.
"Only Joe Root knows if that is the case really," he said. "I'd be very disappointed if that was the case, because the whole point of captaincy and management is to be able to handle, not difficult characters, but just characters who do it differently.
"And characters who are incredibly experienced, and who have a voice in that dressing room and don't mind speaking up.
"That's part of being a captain. The last thing you want is 10 yes men and yourself, and you go out there and you keep losing Test matches.
"The reason Anderson and Broad are great cricketers is that they push themselves and others around them to be brilliant. They don't settle for mediocrity.
"So I really hope this decision is not about a captain who can't handle Broad and Anderson, and I hope it's what Strauss said it is, that we're just looking to the future and making sure that when we go away from home we have an attack suitable for all conditions."
Strauss: I hope Broad and Anderson understand
England's interim managing director Strauss met with interim head coach Paul Collingwood, head scout James Taylor and captain Root on Tuesday to finalise the touring party for the three-match series.
"They [Anderson and Broad] were both very disappointed and that doesn't surprise me," Strauss told Sky Sports on Wednesday.
"They're very passionate about playing for England. I hope they understand the rationale for the decision and I hope they also understand no-one is saying this is the end of the road for either of them.
"I suppose there's a danger [their omissions would be interpreted as the end], but I was trying to be as clear as I can with them.
"And their job right at the moment is to get themselves fired up and ready to go for the start of the international summer in June.
"We need to win away from home more often, I think we've only won four of our last 13 series away from home, and this is the start of a new cycle, so it's an opportunity for us to get some new faces in the team and maybe to ask some of the players who are in the team to play more significant leadership roles.
"With that framing, we feel like it's an opportunity for us to leave both Broad and Anderson out for the time being, and we will learn a lot over the course of that five weeks and three Test matches.
"And so the new England coach and director of cricket, when they come in, will have information to base their selection decision on this summer.
"But I fully expect both Anderson and Broad to be in that selection conversation at the start of the summer."
Asked if the decisions were in any way associated with Root's role as skipper and a want to see him come to the fore more with the experience of Anderson and Broad away, Strauss focussed more on England's bowling options.
"This is more about us finding a bowling resource that is capable of winning away from home. And obviously you need a lot of variety in your attack to do that - that's blatantly obvious," Strauss added.
"It's an opportunity to see other people out there performing in the middle, and, like I said, it is the start of a new cycle, it is a refresh and a reset, and that dressing room will feel very different without Broad and Anderson in it over the course of the tour.
"But I wouldn't in anyway want people to think that Broad and Anderson aren't thoroughly professional in everything they do in an England shirt. That is why they have been as successful as they have been in England colours.
"They've still got a lot to offer on and off the field."
Elsewhere in the squad, wicketkeeper Jos Buttler was omitted too after a poor Ashes series which culminated in a broken finger and him missing the final Test, with Surrey 'keeper Ben Foakes returning.
Strauss refused to confirm if this meant the end of Butter's Test career either.
"No I don't think so either quite frankly [that Buttler's omission signals the end of his Test career]," he said.
"Jos has struggled a little bit over the last 12 months, his level of performance hasn't been quite what it was, and we've got a guy waiting in the wings there in Ben Foakes who I think is widely acknowledged as the best 'keeper in the world, certainly one of the top 'keepers in the world.
"And he's a very, very good batsman in his own right, so he deserves his chance. He hasn't let anyone down when he has played cricket for England, and hopefully he's going to get a decent run of things for the time being.
"We feel this is in the Test team's best interest, and the bigger, more strategic decisions around that sort of thing can be done down the track."
Ramprakash: Anderson, Broad omissions seismic
Speaking on Sky Sports News after the squad confirmation, former England batter and batting coach Mark Ramprakash admitted he did not foresee Anderson and Broad's omissions.
"This is seismic. I mean this is really an earthquake in cricketing terms," Ramprakash said.
"I never saw this coming because really there's been so much focus on England's poor batting displays, particularly in Australia but also last summer, and it seems that these two great bowlers may have paid the price for the Ashes defeat.
"I hope it's not the end of their careers, because they've been such unbelievable servants for England.