Danushka Gunathilaka is in a huge mess after he was accused of rape and sexual assault. He was suspended by Sri Lankan cricket and now he is arrested in Melbourne. He appealed in court for the bail plea, but it got denied by Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney.
Sri Lankan Cricket’s statement after the accusation:
The Executive Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket decided to suspend national player Danushka Gunathilaka from all forms of cricket with immediate effect and will not consider him for any selections after being informed that Mr. Gunathilaka was arrested and charged with sexual assault of a woman in Australia. Furthermore, Sri Lanka Cricket will take the necessary steps to promptly carry out an inquiry into the alleged offense, and, upon conclusion of the aforementioned court case in Australia, steps will be taken to penalize the said player if found guilty.
SLC further stated that the board has “zero tolerance” for any such misconduct by any player and will be providing full support to the Australian law enforcement authorities to carry out a full inquiry into this incident.
Danushka Gunathilaka was denied bail and suspended for an indefinite period by SLC after being accused of rape
Gunathilaka’s reputation in the past is not a very good one. In 2017 he was suspended by SLC Cricket Board for six games since he missed the training and came to the match without any cricket gear. Four years ago, in 2018, a close friend of his accused him of raping a Norwegian woman in Colombo. Last year, in 2021, he was suspended by SLC for one year since he breached Covid-19 restrictions in England. He was ruled out due to an injury but SLC doesn’t know why he didn’t get back to Colombo.
As per the South Wales police, the pair met after getting to know each other from a dating app. “They had drinks and went for something to eat before going back to the young lady’s home, male assaulted the female a number of times whilst performing sexual acts upon her,” said Detective Superintendent Jane Doherty
According to a Sydney Morning Herald report, Gunthalika was arrested wearing a grey T-shirt, blue jeans, and things during his virtual hearings. His lawyer Ananda Amaranath made a bail application during the “closed court” hearing which was denied by the court.
The Srilankan squad had left Australia without Gunthalika after not making it to the semifinals. He played against Namibia in the first match and couldn’t score a single run, later he was ruled out due to an injury but the team qualified for the Super 12 stage.
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