"For him to have faith in my abilities was like expecting mutton biryani in Somalia." This is one of the several telling observations on Greg Chappell that Sourav Ganguly offers to his readers in A Century is not Enough, which is co-written with the journalist, Gautam Bhattacharya. Ganguly's legion of fans would love these rapier thrusts: and that is not the end of their treat. Ganguly presents his side of the story on several controversial episodes, dismantling some myths in the process. For instance, readers get to know what led to the allegation that a young Ganguly, on his maiden tour, had refused to carry drinks to the field.

Some of the revelations are startling because they were not in the public domain before Ganguly took up the pen. A commercial giant's blatant exploitation of the Chappell-Ganguly rift is an example. But Ganguly must be credited for resisting the urge to settle old scores. The manner in which he was stripped of his captaincy certainly figures in the humiliations that he suffered. The former captain looks back at some such painful chapters with the coolness brought about by distance.

And therein lies the importance of this book. A Century is not Enough is not about perceived victimhood. It is a faithful chronicle of important changes in India's cricketing ecosystem. Ganguly writes about a time - it sounds incredible in the modern age - when Indian cricketers loathed fitness training: "It seemed only two cricketers from the team felt the need to train - Kapil Dev and Javagal Srinath". Then, there was the stifling atmosphere brought about by the culture of reverence, something that Captain Ganguly attempted to change. The Player Ganguly recalls how, during his first tour of Australia, he could not quite tell Dilip Vengsarkar that he was "too self-conscious to be alone with him".

The book brings with it a fair share of anecdotes. Ganguly's irritation with his mother for her habit of feeding him savouries is delightful. "How will you play Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar... if you've had luchi and rosogolla for breakfast?"

Cricket, they say, is a team game. But Ganguly shows that the business can get terribly lonely at times. The way in which a cricketer handles this inner, desolate world of doubts and worries is what decides his longevity. Ganguly, as is evident from these pages, passed this test again and again.

Shah Rukh Khan, Ganguly reveals, once said, "Dada, I can see they really love you in Kolkata." They do, because unknown to Khan, in a landscape shorn of both industry and sporting heroes, Ganguly remains their Man of Steel.