What makes Sachin Tendulkar so special?

Context: Sachin Tendulkar is wonderful not because of his cricketing prowess; if that were the case, roughly the same degree of adoration would have been held for Rahul Dravid, who is also in the same league in terms of performance...

164 Tests, 13288 runs at 52.88 versus Sachin's 200 Tests, 15921 runs at 53.86

As you can see, there is nothing to select between the two.

Of course, Sachin has a significant advantage in one-dayers: 39 vs 44 in averages. Yet not nearly enough to deserve Sachin's adoration.

Answer: From the provided text, we don't know. Sachin Tendulkar's exceptional cricketing skills alone do not account for his immense popularity, as his stats are comparable to Rahul Dravid's. Both have impressive records in Test matches, with little difference between them. Although Sachin has an advantage in one-dayers, it's not enough to justify the level of adoration he receives compared to Dravid.