Gambhir cuts short county stint at Essex due to family reasons

India batsman Gautam Gambhir has been forced to cut short his stint with Essex due to family reasons but the English county club is hopeful of his return before the end of the season.

"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, on Monday.

"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 he took to get going 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.