 Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh during the Sydney Test |
Harbhajan was banned for three matches after being found guilty of calling Symonds a "monkey" in the second Test.
Skipper Kumble said: "When that incident happened I did make a request to Ricky that it should be handled, if it can be sorted out, whatever.
"His response was that it had already been reported."
South Africa batsman Boeta Dippenaar told BBC Sport Kumble's approach was the right way of dealing with the matter.
"If there was an issue the players should have gone to each other and said that was wrong and if there wasn't any conclusion it should then have been followed through the proper steps," he said.
"It's too easy to say this guy said this so I'm going to report him to the match referee."
But former Australia batsman Justin Langer believes what Ponting did was correct.
He told BBC Radio Five Live: "If there was racial discrimination - as there was deemed to be because Harbhajan Singh was given a three-Test ban - that cannot be tolerated."
India suspended their tour on Monday following the Harbhajan hearing but agreed to continue on Tuesday, although they warned they might yet abandon the trip if the spinner's appeal fails.
The ICC is hoping the appeal will be heard before next week's third Test.
"There is a process in place for appeals and Harbhajan Singh has appealed," ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed told Radio Four's Today programme.
"India have signed off on the appeals process. They were there when all the discussions took place.
"We can't have one set of rules for the India team and another set for everyone else.
"We will follow the process and I hope whatever the outcome all parties will be able to say they have had a fair hearing."
The case will be heard by New Zealand High Court judge Justice John Hansen at a venue still to be determined.
Kumble said: "Having played cricket for this long, I knew such an allegation would definitely spiral into what it has now. I anticipated that it would spiral into a larger issue," Kumble added.
Ponting said he had acted on the guidance of the game's governing body, the International Cricket Council, to report any racial incidents following problems with spectators on Australia's tour of India last year.
Match referee Mike Procter said he was satisfied Harbhajan had used the word - though neither of the two umpires heard the remarks - and that "he meant it to offend on the basis of Symonds' race or ethnic origin".
Kumble insists Harbhajan did not make the remark to Symonds, the only non-white player on the Australian team and says Sachin Tendulkar, who was batting with Harbhajan at the time, has backed him up.
"We are hopeful we get the right decision," he said. "From what I gather from my two team-mates who were on the field, that remark was never made.
"People believe that a word was said, which was not said."
"The entire team is together on this and has really backed him. I am really proud of that fact and I'd like to thank the BCCI for fully backing us."
Harbhajan was accompanied at the hearing by Chauhan, assistant manager Dr MV Sridhar, captain Anil Kumble and Tendulkar.
If he was to lose the appeal he would miss the two remaining Tests in Australia, and one further match.
India reacted to Harbhajan's ban by lodging their own complaint against Australia's Brad Hogg for allegedly making an abusive comment to one of their players, and he has since been charged by the ICC.
Harbhajan is the first player punished for a racist remark since South Africa's Herschelle Gibbs was suspended for three matches in January 2007.
He was caught on a stump microphone talking about Pakistan fans.
In 2003, Australia's Darren Lehmann was suspended for five one-day matches after he was found guilty of shouting a "racially-motivated obscenity" in a match against Sri Lanka.
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