Melbourne, Aug 25 (IANS): Former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting said he encouraged Rahul Dravid to "not even think about retiring" during the cricket Test series in India last October.

The former India skipper, who struck three centuries in the recent disastrous tour of England, was going through a lean patch last year, but Ponting told Dravid not to pay heed to the critics.

His only century in 2010 up till then had been against Bangladesh and he managed just one half-century during the series against Australia.

"I remember after our last series in India there was a lot of talk and speculation about Dravid being finished," Ponting was quoted as saying in ESPNcricinfo.

"I actually went and found him at the end of the series and said 'don't you even think about retiring' because I just saw some stuff in a few of his innings that suggested he was still a very, very good player.

"I just said 'don't let them wear you down, don't let them get you down'. I received a similar text message before and after the Ashes from him as well."

After that home series against Australia, Dravid scored two centuries against New Zealand before a string of low scores in South Africa.