Channel 4 has denied reports that it has secured the rights to broadcast the England cricket team's tour of India.

Joe Root's side will play four Test matches, five T20s and three ODIs in Chennai, Ahmedabad and Pune over the next two months, with the first day of the first Test taking place this Friday.

Over the last week rumours have been rife that C4 is poised to take the rights to the entire tour ahead of Sky Sports and BT Sport in a deal that would see Test cricket air on terrestrial TV in the UK for the first time since 2005.

According to a report in The Guardian, Channel 4 has now agreed a deal with Indian broadcaster Star Sports to that effect but in a statement this afternoon, C4 insisted that a contract has not been signed.

A Channel 4 spokesman said: "We are still in discussions but nothing has been confirmed."

The first Test has a start time of 4am, but with England still in coronavirus lockdown, there is optimism that the coverage could draw significant ratings if shown by Channel 4.