Calcutta: In an attempt to revive his international career, Gautam Gambhir has turned to Justin Langer. Gambhir is in Perth these days, training under the supervision of the former Australia batsman, who is the head coach of Western Australia and the city’s T20 team Perth Scorchers.

Gambhir returned briefly to international cricket last year, but was discarded after two Tests in England, where he made scores of 4, 18, 0 and 3 in his four innings. 

That recall came after more than a year and a half in the wilderness. He was dropped from the Test team in December 2012 after India lost a home series to England, in which he made 251 runs at an average of 41.83 in the four Tests. He lost his one-day spot a month later, and was not included in India’s 30-man list of probables for the World Cup earlier this year.

“I met JL (Langer) during the last Champions League last year when he was touring with Perth Scorchers as their coach,” Gambhir was quoted as saying by a cricket-specific website. “We spoke about a few things, about my batting, and I realised that he could be my go-to man to work on my game.”

The intention behind seeking Langer out, Gambhir says, is not to focus on specific areas of concern but to work on what he calls the “overall development”.

“I’d read Langer’s interviews and his books,” Gambhir said. “I could relate to him a lot. He too is an intense character like me and these things pushed me to come here.”

Gambhir, who has led Kolkata Knight Riders to two IPL titles in the last four years, making strong contributions with the bat himself, leaned heavily on his childhood coach Parthasarathi Sharma for advice. Sharma’s death in 2010 led him to first seek out the former India opener WV Raman before turning to Langer now.

The stint in Perth includes not just cricket skills but also gymnastics and martial arts sessions along with the Western Australia players.