Melbourne: Responding to Gautam Gambhir’s jibe at him, former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting on Wednesday said the India head coach was a “prickly character” and insisted that his comments on Virat Kohli should not be construed as a dig on the star batter, who himself would be worried about his prolonged lean patch.

Ponting, in an interview to the International Cricket Council (ICC), had said that Kohli’s poor form would be a concern and any other international player would have struggled to keep his spot in the Test side with just two hundreds in five years.

He though had also spoken highly of Kohli’s ability to bounce back.

Gambhir, when asked about Ponting’s comments, said the Australian legend needn’t be concerned about Indian cricket.

“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,” Ponting told 7News when asked about Gambhir’s comments.

“If he comes my way, yeah. I don’t expect him to. We have got quite a bit of history, against each other. I have actually coached him at Delhi Capitals and he is quite a prickly character,” Ponting said in jest when the anchor asked if he would shake hands with Gambhir if they cross path.

One of the greatest batters of his time, Ponting then explained what he meant and felt that his comments were taken out of context.

“In no way was it a dig at him (Kohli). I actually followed it up by saying he’s played well in Australia and he’ll be keen to bounce back over here…If you ask Virat, I’m sure he 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,” he added.