Why only cricket is so popular in India

The whole world knows that the most popular sport in india is cricket and its popularity is once again proved by the India Premier League's success. I am here talking about outdoor team games. Growing up as a kid the only sport we played most of the times was cricket with football season starting and ending usually with the start and end of the football world cup, so why was it so popular with us kids then, the simple reason being all you needed was a bat and a ball and couple of people and there we go you can play cricket an moreover most Indian towns and cities have small play grounds and even if it is a big one the crowd is usually large so obviously cricket was easier and cheaper to play, and several teams could overlap and play in the same stadium or ground, you don't need all those expensive gears when you are playing with a tennis ball or a rubber ball.

Secondly its to do with the weather, I mean not the hot indian weather but the dry Indian weather, as the ground is wet and soft only for about couple of months in a year during the monsoons and then it dries up quickly and becomes hard, making it ideal for playing cricket and thats an other reason why indians are not good at outfield fielding as we are not used to the slides as you will be hurt badly if you fall on the hard ground, where as in countries like UK , the ground is so soft due to the year round rain, you can slip and slide on the ground without getting hurt hence the popularity of football and rugby in UK. the same reason applies why India is not good in football as our countryside is not suited for a rough game like football or rugby, one high chase fall or tackle can endanger a players life. Probably that is the reason football is relatively popular in wet states like kerala and west bengal.

Thirdly the media coverage cricket gets partly because it is the only team sport that India is any good at and it is the only sport where there is a good chance of India winning.