Sachin has been on the decline since 1999. I will remember him only for the two wonderful knocks he played against Australia at Sharjah in 1998. Just compare him with Hayden, Ponting & Hussey. Sachin is nowhere close to these players. The real test for a master batsman is against strong teams. In World Cup 2003 he did not click when it mattered the most and was cheaply out to McGrath in the finals. It is high time that Sachin should retire.
Gavaskar can be rated as the best batsman of India so far by just looking at his batting performances against the mighty Windies of the 70’s & 80’s.
I would rate VVS Laxman’s innings of 281 runs against Australia in Kolkata in 2001 as the best innings any Indian batsman has played. Just imagine that the mighty Australians who had won 16 consecutive Test matches had to go wicketless on one day when the pair of Laxman & Dravid were in full flow in the Kolkata match. It is these type of innings that make a batsman standout.