Melbourne, Nov 13: Responding to Gautam Gambhir's jibe at him, former Australia 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 ICC, had said that Kohli's poor form would be a concern and any other international player would have struggle 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 things 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 said.

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Mumbai, Dec 26: Youtuber Ranveer Allahbadia has said he and his girlfriend were swept away by an underwater current on Christmas evening in Goa but were rescued by another couple.

Allahbadia, who goes by the name of BeerBiceps on social media, shared his story on Instagram on Wednesday evening.

He thanked an IPS officer and his IRS wife for saving their lives.

"We're perfectly fine & well now. But yesterday at 6:00 pm or so, my girlfriend and I had to be rescued from a bit of a situation. We both love swimming in the open ocean. I've been doing this since I was a kid. But yesterday we got swept away by an underwater current," the YouTuber said.

"This has happened to me before but I've never been alongside a companion. It's easy to swim out of one alone. It's very hard to pull someone out with you. After a 5-10 minute struggle, we called for help and were promptly rescued by a family of five swimming nearby," he added.

Allahbadia said the experience has left both of them feeling "blank as well as grateful". "We felt the protection of God throughout the incident,” he added.

 
 
 
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