Many international bowlers would admit that Mahendra Singh Dhoni is one of the hardest to bowl to. But ask India's best finisher which bowler was the toughest he had ever faced, his response would take you by surprise.

It's not Glenn McGrath or a Brett Lee, not even a Dale Steyn and definitely not Lasith Malinga.

Instead it is the Rawalpindi Express - former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar!

"All the fast bowlers are quite difficult, with the limited technique I had, it was very difficult to face the fast bowlers. Still, if I had to pick one, I would pick Shoaib Akhtar," said the former India skipper on the sidelines of Virat Kohli's charity dinner on Monday.

"Very simple reason, he was quick, he was fast, he could bowl a yorker, he could bowl a bouncer but you never expected a beamer, he was a bit unpredictable, he was fun to play against," Dhoni added.

Dhoni has scored 1226 runs at an average of 58.38 in 32 ODIs against Pakistan. His tally includes two centuries and nine fifties.

It may be recalled that Dhoni played his first match against Pakistan in 2005 in Kochi when he was dismissed for just 3 runs by Arshad Khan. But remember his second match against the arch-rivals in Vizag when he made a mockery of Pakistan bowling attack, scoring a brilliant 148 off 123 balls to guide India to 356?