Greece call up Konstas to help T20 World Cup bid

Greece call up Konstas to help T20 World Cup bidImage source, European Cricket NetworkImage caption, Greece have been members of the International Cricket Council since 1995 but have not played enough fixtures recently for a T20 rankingByTimothy AbrahamBBC Sport journalistPublished2 minutes agoGreece have called up the brother of Australia batter Sam Konstas to their national cricket team as they prepare to make a surprise bid to qualify for the 2028 men's T20 World Cup.It is understood Billy Konstas, four years older than Sam at 24, has been included in Greece's 14-man squad for a European qualifying event in Finland from 14 to 21 August.Sam made his Test debut for Australia at the age of 19 against India in the Boxing Day Test in 2024, memorably ramping Jasprit Bumrah three times in one over.Billy plays grade cricket in Sydney alongside his day job where he combines cricket coaching with physiotherapy.The elder Konstas is joined in the squad by another Greek-Aussie in 21-year-old leg-spinning all-rounder Blake Faunce, who played representative age-group cricket for Australian Capital Territory.The Hellenic Cricket Federation (HCF) have also held talks with Blake Nikitaras, 26, who has played first-class cricket for New South Wales and in the Big Bash for Sydney Thunder.Nikitaras' father Steve bookended his own professional career with appearances for Greece's national side. Another Australian with Greek heritage, Peter Hatzoglou, has also been in discussions with the Greek federation, but is not currently eligible for selection.The 27-year-old would be a coup for Greece given his substantial short-format franchise experience, including stints in The Hundred, Big Bash and Pakistan Super League.At this stage it seems unlikely Nikitaras and Hatzoglou will be available, but should Greece make it through a 10-team European sub-regional qualifier C then they could come into the mix.Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Sam Konstas, centre, with hi...