Bereaved Gautam Gambhir to make Essex return
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.
A family bereavement may have forced Gautam Gambhir to return home midway through his County stint at Essex but the professional that he is, the 31-year-old is expected to rejoin the squad in time to be considered for selection for this week's trip to Kent, starting on Wednesday.
A club statement read: "Essex County Cricket Club can announce that Gautam Gambhir will be returning to the club following a sudden bereavement in his family.
"Gautam returned home to India on 1 September but will now rejoin the Essex squad ahead of the trip to Kent on Wednesday 11 September in the LV= County Championship at Canterbury."
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.