Australian skipper Ricky Ponting might have had a paltry series with the bat during his 4-match IPL stint for Kolkata Knight Riders, but the Punter, who aggregated just 39 at 9.75, is back with the national team preparing for an important tour of the West Indies later this month.

Ponting while speaking to ABC News after returning home from India has praised the IPL for providing the cricketers from round the world with a chance to share a dressing-room with other who might be rivals at national level.

"I had [Sourav] Ganguly and Ishant Sharma both in my side. We got on really, really well," Ponting added.

"I think it's a good opportunity for some of those cultural differences or breakdowns in international cricket to be understood better," he said.