Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting responded to Gautam Gambhir’s jab at him on Wednesday, calling the India coach a “prickly character” and insisting that his remarks about Virat Kohli should not be interpreted as a jab at the star batsman, who would be concerned about his extended period of inactivity.

With only two hundred in five years, Ponting had said in an interview with the ICC that Kohli’s bad record would be a worry and that any other international player would have had difficulty maintaining his place in the Test team. However, he had also praised Kohli’s capacity for recovery.

In response to Ponting’s remarks, Gambhir said that the Australian great doesn’t have to worry about Indian cricket. When questioned about Gambhir’s remarks, Ponting told 7News, “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 said, “If he comes my way, yeah, I don’t expect him to [shake hands]” when asked whether he would shake hands with Gambhir if they crossed paths. We have a lot of history against one another. He is a really prickly guy, and I have actually coached him at the Delhi Capitals. Ponting, one of the best hitters of all time, continued by clarifying his meaning and expressing his belief that his comment regarding Kohli was taken out of context.

It wasn’t a jab at him [Kohli] at all. In fact, I went on to suggest that he had performed well in Australia and would be eager to return here. Ponting said, “I’m sure Virat would be a little worried that he hasn’t been able to hit as many hundreds as he has in past years.