The time will come when Australia’s best cricketers decide whether they can take the field at the Gabba on Thursday.

But that time is not now.

The Test squad should have been wrapping up Sheffield Shield games on Friday and preparing to travel to Brisbane.

Instead they’ve assembled in Sydney, still in shock over the death of Phillip Hughes.

The tragedy has deeply affected Australian cricketers past and present, causing many to ask whether the opening Test should start in Brisbane on Thursday.

It’s a question the players are yet to consider.

“We all love cricket and nobody loves cricket more than Phillip. Cricket will go on and it will go on when we’re ready,” Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland said on Friday.

“We haven’t broached the subject with the players yet – we will in time.

“They’re grieving and they’ve lost someone that’s incredibly close to them.

“It’s really important to give people time and people will respond in different ways to what they’re going through.”

Sutherland noted day one of the first Test may be under a week away, “but in other ways it’s a million miles away”.

“We’ll get there when we can,” he said.

Test players Brad Haddin, David Warner, Shane Watson and Nathan Lyon were all in the field for NSW when they watched Hughes slump to the ground after being struck.

Captain Michael Clarke was a near-constant presence during Hughes’ time at St Vincent’s Hospital.

“Today’s about grieving … how you move forward,” CA team performance manager Pat Howard said.

“Day by day, not anything further than that.

“We need to make sure the players are in a position where they can make strong choices. That’s not now.

“It’s so raw and so close to home … we’re going to focus on people first, then the cricket.”

Memorial and funeral plans will influence whether the first Test is delayed or abandoned.

If the game goes ahead, it will be left up to players as to whether they want to take part.

Cricket Australia director Mark Taylor told the Nine Network the first Test could be a fitting tribute, but it would be a matter for players and Hughes’ family to consider.

“It would be great for the Test match to go ahead so people could come out and share the mourning of the loss of Phillip,” Taylor said.

“There’s a lot to be discussed over the next probably three or four days before a decision will probably be made next week.

“It’s never an easy situation but … the game will go on at some stage.”

Former captain Steve Waugh visited Hughes at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney on Thursday.

“Right now, there have got to be serious doubts for at least four or five players walking onto the field with a clear head and playing 100 per cent,” Waugh told Macquarie Radio Network.

India’s final match before the first Test was cancelled on Thursday, CA not wanting its grief-stricken players to take the field at Adelaide Oval.

India will remain in Adelaide on the weekend and plan on flying to Brisbane on Monday.

Sutherland thanked the tourists for their support, noting their “understanding and empathy has been outstanding”.

Given the upcoming jam-packed schedule, it would be difficult to reschedule the first Test this summer.

It means if the match does not go ahead, it is likely to be abandoned.