Gambhir cuts short county stint due to family reasons

u00a0"Gautam Gambhir returned to his native India on Sunday for family reasons. At this stage Essex Cricket and Gautam are unable to make any further comment," Essex said in a statement.

Gautam Gambhir. Pic/ Suresh K.K.

"Essex Cricket is fully supportive of Gautam and very much hope that he will return to Essex before the end of the 2013 English domestic season," it added.

Gambhir's stint with Essex started only last month and had failed to make much impact with scores of 31, 21, 2 and 0 before striking a hundred on August 30 against Gloucestershire in a drawn match in Bristol.

The left-handed opener has been ousted from the Indian team due to poor form. He was not selected for the Champions Trophy, the tri-series in the West Indies and the ODI tour of Zimbabwe after that.

His most recent appearance for India was an ODI against England in January. A bout of jaundice after that didn't help his cause either.u00a0