The first day of India’s tour match has been called off following the death of Phillip Hughes.

The visitors were slated to start a two-day game against a Cricket Australia XI in Adelaide on Friday.

But Cricket Australia has confirmed its grief-stricken players will not take the field then.

There remains a possibility the game may go ahead on Saturday and Sunday.

Indian players were visibly shaken when told of Hughes’ death.

The squad had just completed a game of soccer at Adelaide Oval when team director Ravi Shastri and coach Duncan Fletcher called them into a huddle.

It was a brief conversation, with the squad quickly disappearing to the rooms before leaving the ground.

“The touring Indian team joins the cricketing fraternity across the world in offering condolences to the family of Phillip Hughes, who has departed from our midst,” a statement from the Indian squad said.

“In this moment of grief, we pray that they are bestowed with divine strength to overcome this unfortunate tragedy.

“As fellow cricketers we cherish the memories of playing along with him and deeply respect his contribution to the game of cricket.”

Stand-in skipper Virat Kohli posted on Twitter that he was “shocked and saddened by the news”.

Earlier on Thursday, the CA squad full of talented youngsters trained in the nets.

Few words were spoken and fewer bouncers sent down.

South Australia pair Kelvin Smith and Alex Gregory did not take part in the session, their thoughts with Hughes at St Vincent’s Hospital.

The Adelaide Oval scoreboard carried a tribute message to Hughes, as staff and teammates wrapped their mind around the 25-year-old’s desperately unlucky death.