I don't agree. Cricket got prominence because (1) it was widely played all over India (including West Bengal where football was religion until 1980s (2) Unfortunately Hockey and Football were seen as regional sport (Punjab, Bengal..); cricket too was dominated by Bombay but once the stranglehold was broken by Delhi and later on Karnataka, it achieved a national status
The rise of cricket was only after the India team started winning especially in overseas (1971 when Ajit Wadekar won in West Indies and later in England). Until then football had better fan-following.
Once India won the World cup in 1983, cricket's popularity shot up. It also coincided with the dramatic increase in TV transmitters across the country in 1982 (for the Asiad). More people started watching cricket.
Of course, watching a Test match is like watching a soap opera - you don't need to be seeing it all the time!!
