Gunathilaka denied bail by Sydney court over rape charges; Sri Lanka Cricket suspends him
Danushka Gunathilaka was arrested in Sydney on Sunday morning over rape charges and has not returned with his side to Sri Lanka after the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup ouster. Meanwhile, he was denied bail by a local court, while SLC suspended him.
FollowArrested on indictments of sexual assault on a woman during the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia, Sri Lankan all-rounder Danushka Gunathilaka was declined bail after the hearing at a local court in Syndey on Monday. He attended the hearing through a video link in Downing Centre Local Court from Surry Hills cells. The 31-year-old Gunathilaka was charged in the wee hours of Sunday following a probe into the alleged sexual assault of a woman on November 2. According to a Sydney Morning Herald report, Gunathilaka was handcuffed and wore a grey T-shirt, blue jeans and thongs during his virtual attendance at the hearing.
Gunathilaka's lawyer Ananda Amaranath created a bail application during the "closed court" hearing, and the report said that magistrate Robert Williams denied bail. "Certainly, we are considering an application to the Supreme Court, which will be done as soon as possible. He'll be disappointed," Amaranth said in the report.
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The Sri Lankan side left Australia without Gunathilaka after being ousted from the T20WC on Saturday. Amaranath enunciated he understood "some team officials remained in the country". He also said that Gunathilaka has no family Down Under. The left-handed batter played versus Namibia in the first-round game of the ongoing showpiece and was dismissed for a duck. Later, he was ruled out of the event with an injury, while the team qualified for the Super 12. The Lankan side finished fourth in Group 1.
According to local media reports, Gunathilaka and the woman were in touch for several days after linking via an online dating app. The arrest was made from a Sydney hotel just a few hours before the Lankan team departed Australia. The Sri Lankan government has asked Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) to investigate immediately.
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The SLC has made it evident it would take rigid action against the player if found blameworthy. Gunathilaka is no stranger to controversies. He was suspended in 2021 by SLC for a year after breaching the team's bio-secure bubble during the England tour along with teammates Kusal Mendis and Niroshan Dickwella.
After breaking the team curfew, SLC also handed him a six-month ban in 2018. In the same year, Gunathilaka was suspended after his anonymous friend was indicted for raping a Norwegian woman. In 2017, the board suspended him for six limited-overs matches after it found out about him missing training sessions and arriving for a contest without his cricket gear. He has played for Lanka in eight Tests, 47 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and 46 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is).
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SLC suspends Gunathilaka
Meanwhile, SLC has already decided to suspend Gunathilaka with immediate effect from all forms of cricket. "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," the board declared in a statement.
"Furthermore, Sri Lanka Cricket will take the necessary steps to promptly carry out an inquiry into the alleged offence, and, upon conclusion of the aforementioned court case in Australia, steps will be taken to penalize the said player if found guilty. Sri Lanka Cricket wishes to emphasize that it adopts a 'zero tolerance' policy for any such conduct by a player and will provide all the required support to the Australian law enforcement authorities to carry out an impartial inquiry into the incident," SLC concluded.
(With inputs from PTI)
