Sri Lanka Cricket on Monday dropped cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka from all game formats following his Sydney arrest is connection with allegedly sexually assaulting a woman in Australia.
“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 Gunathilaka was arrested and charged with sexual assault of a woman in Australia,” the body said in a statement.
Pledging a “prompt” inquiry, Sri Lanka Cricket also said the aforementioned player will be penalised if found guilty. “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.”
The body said it will provide complete support to Australia authorities with an “impartial probe” into the incident and emphasised how it had a “zero-tolerance” policy for such conduct on part of any player. “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.”
Sri Lanka Cricket had confirmed on Sunday that Gunathilaka had been nabbed in connection with allegedly assaulting a woman in Sydney. “The International Cricket Council (ICC), the body said, had notified it. “Sri Lanka Cricket confirms that it was notified by the ICC that player Danushka Gunathilaka has been arrested on the allegations of sexual assault of a woman in Sydney, and Mr. Gunathilaka is due to appear in court tomorrow (7 November 2022),” the body said on Sunday.
Gunathilaka was arrested at the hotel around 1am on Sunday, handcuffed and taken to the Surry Hills police cells and charged with raping a woman in Sydney’s eastern suburbs during the T20 World Cup, according to Daily Mail. His bail application was denied the following day (Monday). The Sri Lankan star, charged with four counts of rape, commanded a playboy image and had discipline issues, according to the British tabloid.
