The verbal banter between the Australian former cricketer Ricky Ponting and the Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir continues as Ponting tags Gambhir as a "frightened" one ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The verbal feud broke out after Ponting openly showed concern about Virat Kohli's ongoing batting form. When asked about that in the pre-departure press conference, Gambhir not only backed his boys but urged Ponting to concentrate on Australian cricket. Later, Ponting clarified his words; said that he didn't intend to criticize Kohli but stated facts about his form, which looked concerning to him. He also stated that he is aware of Gambhir's "prickly" character and is no wonder that Gambhir would mince back. However, that would not affect him to shake hands when they meet in the BGT. Read: Shocking! Sanjay Manjrekar Reveals What Will Cause India’s Poor Performance in BGT 2024-25 This time, Ponting changed his tone from being adjusting to a little different while chatting in the podcast show, 'The Run Home with Joel & Fletch.' Ponting said that Gambhir wanted to defeat him with words, as with cricket, it is looking tough. In the podcast, he said, “I'm not sure if I mentioned a couple of them, but I reckon he's just throwing me in the deep end, trying to find their two most experienced and make sure when they come out, they put that back on me.” Ponting again clarified on Kohli Not only that, Ponting again clarified his remarks on Kohli. “I was asked the other night if I was concerned about Virat Kohli's form. A day before, I had read his stats from the last five years, so it was clear in my mind. I think he made only two (three) centuries in the last five years. His average in India is now down to 30 from 90, during this period. So yes, I would be concerned. And I said if you ask him about his form, he would be concerned because it is nowhere near what it used to be. But then I said since he loves playing in Australia and has a great record here, so if there ever was a tour where he could turn things around, it would be this. But they never talked about the second part. Then Gambhir went and faced the press having just lost against New Zealand. The hair on the back of his neck is already standing up. We got a bit of history as well, but he took a chance to fire back at me." India's must-win series, Border Gavaskar Trophy. India needs to win at least 4 of the remaining 5 Tests against Australia in order to qualify for the World Tst Championship final. Given the batting forms exposed in the recently concluded New Zealand Series, things look weary. Read: Raman Suggests Tendulkar as Batting Consultant for India Earlier, India had denied to skip the only intrasquad warm-up match but later decided to go for it. This Friday, India will play against India A at the WAQA.