Eighteen Afghan players have been shortlisted for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) auction scheduled in Saudi Arabia on November 24 and 25.

A total of 29 Afghan cricketers had registered for the auction.

On Friday, the IPL governing body unveiled the shortlist of 574 players, which includes 18 Afghans.

Out of the 574 Players, 366 are Indian and 208 are overseas, including 3 players from associate nations. The auction will include 318 Indian uncapped players and 12 uncapped overseas players.

204 slots will be up for grabs with 70 available slots for overseas players.

Full list of Afghan players shortlisted for the auction:

1. Rahmanullah Gurbaz
2. Noor Ahmad
3. Waqar Salamkheil
4. Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar
5. Mujeeb-ur-Rahman
6. Azmatullah Omarzai
7. Naveen-ul-haq
8. Zahir Khan Pakten
9. Sediqullah Atal
10. Mohammad Nabi
11. Gulbadin Naib
12. Fazalhaq Farooqi
13. Najibullah Zadran
14. Ibrahim Zadran
15. Qais Ahmad
16. Karim Janat
17. Faridoon Dawoodzai
18. Nangyal Kharote

Jake Paul beat boxing legend Mike Tyson by unanimous decision to win an intergenerational heavyweight battle in Texas on Friday that failed to live up to its enormous hype.

The bout between the 27-year-old social media influencer-turned-prizefighter Paul and the 58-year-old former heavyweight champion Tyson was streamed live on Netflix and played out in front of a sold-out crowd at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Reuters reported.

Those fans were left largely disappointed as Tyson showed his age and was never able to generate any offense against his younger opponent, landing just 18 punches to Paul's 78.

"First and foremost, Mike Tyson - it's an honor to be able to fight him," said Paul.

"It was as tough and hard as I thought it would be."

Tyson, who wore a knee brace, never mounted much of a challenge after being wobbled by some left hands in the third round but did enough defensively to avoid taking any serious damage.

He admitted after the contest to fighting through a leg injury.

"Yeah, but I can't use that as an excuse. If I did, I wouldn't be in here," Tyson said.

"I knew he was a good fighter. He was prepared, I came to fight. I didn't prove nothing to anybody, only to myself. I'm not one of those guys that live to please the world. I'm just happy with what I can do."

Tyson, one of the most fearsome heavyweight champions of all time during his heyday in the late 1980s and early 1990s, was in his first professional fight in nearly 20 years. He was non-committal when asked if he would return to the ring again.

"I don't know. It depends on the situation," he said.

Paul (11-1) said he can now fight anyone he wants, possibly even Mexican Canelo Alvarez, after being the main attraction in the mega event that brought out a star-studded crowd and 72,300 fight fans to the home of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys.

"This is the biggest event, over 120 million people on Netflix. We crashed the site, The biggest U.S. boxing gate, $20 million, in U.S. history, and everyone is next on the list."

TAYLOR BEATS SERRANO

In the co-main event earlier in the evening, Ireland's Katie Taylor retained her super lightweight title by beating Puerto Rico's Amanda Serrano in a controversial unanimous decision after a violent affair.

Serrano came forward throughout the fight but their heads crashed together hard in the early stages, resulting in a deep cut over Serrano's right eye. The referee later took a point off Taylor for head butts.

In the end all three judges scored it 95-94 for Taylor, who denied accusations from Serrano's corner that she was fighting dirty.

Taylor won the pair's previous meeting at New York's Madison Square Garden in April 2022 and said there would be a third meeting.

Afghanistan's under-19 national cricket team defeated Pakistan's under-19 players by 100 runs in the first match of the Tri-Nation Series.

The match was held on Friday in Dubai which hosts this tournament.

Afghanistan's under-19 cricket team will face the United Arab Emirates in the second match of the Tri-Nation Series which is scheduled on November 18.