Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) board has officially suspended Danushka Gunathilaka after he was arrested with rape charges in Sydney on Sunday (November 6). The incident happened a day after Sri Lanka ended their T20 World Cup 2022 campaign in Australia after their defeat to England on Saturday. The Sydney police has taken Gunathilaka in custody while the rest of the team has retuned back to Sri Lanka, with Sri Lanka embassy paying close attention into the matters.
Statement from SLC
“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.
“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,” read the statement after it was confirmed on SLC’s official Twitter handle.
What happened on Sunday?
Detectives arrested Gunathilaka on Sunday (November 6) morning over the alleged sexual assault of a 29-year-old woman in Rose Bay last week. Police alleged Gunathilaka, 31, and the woman were communicating for a number of days via an online dating app before they met in person.
Police alleged in court that Gunathilaka sexually assaulted the woman on the evening of November 2. Gunathilaka was arrested at a hotel on Sussex Street, Sydney, shortly before 1am on Sunday. He was taken to Sydney City Police Station and charged with four counts of sexual intercourse without consent.
The Sri Lankan cricketer was refused bail to appear at Parramatta Bail Court via an audiovisual link today. Sri Lanka’s T20 World Cup team, of which Gunathilaka was a squad member, played their final match in the tournament in Sydney on Saturday night.
