It was learnt that chairman of selection committee Atul Wasan personally spoke to Gambhir to inform him about the decision of the selection committee.
"Frankly Vijay Hazare is the last tournament of the season and this was an ideal opportunity for us to see who is the best candidate to lead the state side. We were not finding anyone all these years who could replace Gautam," former India spinner and current Delhi selector Nikhil Chopra told PTI today.
The 21-year-old Pant has recently made his senior India debut in T20 format against England.