Ricky Ponting hits back at 'prickly' Gautam Gambhir, defends take on Virat Kohli

Ricky Ponting has clarified his recent comments about Virat Kohli and claimed that he wasn't trying to take a jibe at the Indian star batter. Ponting also said that Gautam Gambhir was a 'prickly character' and wasn't surprised to see him lash out at his Kohli remark.

In Short

• Ponting said he was just concerned about Kohli's form
• The Aussie legend said he wasn't surprised to see Gambhir lash out
• Ponting expressed his willingness to shake the India coach's hand during the Test series

Ricky Ponting has claimed that he wasn't taking a dig at Virat Kohli and was just giving his honest opinion about the star batter's form recently. Ponting also said he was surprised with the reaction from India coach Gautam Gambhir's reaction to his comments on Kohli.

Ponting had recently caught the eye of the storm for saying that Kohli's form was a concern and someone with just 2 hundreds in 5 years wouldn't have been a top-order batter in international cricket. This would receive criticism from Gambhir, who told the former Aussie captain to focus on Australia cricket instead. The Australian legend has now clarified his comments, saying he said that he and even Kohli would have been concerned about his current form and he wasn't taking shots at the Indian batter. Ponting hailed Kohli as a class player.

“I said I would be concerned (about his form),” Ponting told 7NEWS. “But I think if you ask Virat, I’m sure Virat would be a little bit concerned that he hasn’t been able to make the same amount of hundreds as he has in previous years.

“In no way was it a dig at him. I actually followed it up by saying he’s played well in Australia and he’ll be keen to bounce back over here. So, it’s amazing how little things can get cut up, but he’s a class player and he’s played well in Australia in the past."

Gambhir's a prickly character

Speaking about the response he got from Gambhir, Ponting said the current India coach is quite a 'prickly' character and he wasn't surprised to see him come back at him.

“I was surprised to read the reaction but knowing the coach, Gautam Gambhir ... he’s quite a prickly character, so I’m not surprised it was him who said something back," said Ponting.

Ponting expressed his willingness to shake the India coach's hand during the Test series, though he doesn’t expect it to actually happen. Kohli has scored 1352 runs in 13 matches in Australia at an average of 54.08 down under.