I don't want to compare any players, but my favorite batsman is Lara. There is no doubt about Tendulkar's class. Needless to say, Ponting has been the BEST batsmen in the world in the recent times(though Im not a very big fan of him). I don't like Indian team very much, but I wanted to see India winning a world cup just because of Sachin Tendulkar. He is a great batsmand and it is the only feat he has not accomplished yet. Talking about Sachin's retirement, I would say who the ef are those guys who say that he should retire. He is one of the greatest players of all times and he should know himself than anybody else when to retire. People were saying the same thing about Ganguly and he has come back strongly. We all know well, "FORM IS TEMPORARY, BUT CLASS IS PERMANENT"