Sri Lankan cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka has been arrested in Sydney on the charges of rape. The cricketer was arrested in the early hours of Sunday morning from the team hotel in Sydney's central business district. Gunathilaka has been accused of raping a 29-year-old woman. The incident is reported to have occurred at a Rose Bay residence earlier in the week.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Sri Lankan team has left for Colombo leaving Gunathilaka behind. It’s worth mentioning that the Lankan batter has been accused of sexual assault, not for the first time. He was involved in a similar case in 2018.
Police reports have claimed that Gunathilaka met the woman through a dating application and the two had been talking for a long time before they met. "The woman met with the man after communicating with him for a number of days via an online dating application; it's alleged he then sexually assaulted her on the evening of Wednesday 2 November 2022," a New South Wales police statement said.
"As part of ongoing investigations, a crime scene examination was undertaken by specialist police at an address in Rose Bay yesterday. Following further inquiries, a 31-year-old man was arrested at a hotel on Sussex Street, Sydney, shortly before 1am today (Sunday 6 November 2022).
"He was taken to Sydney City Police Station and charged with four counts of sexual intercourse without consent. The Sri Lankan national was refused bail to appear at Parramatta Bail Court via AVL [audio visual links] today."
Gunathilaka was ruled out of the T20 World Cup during the first round with a hamstring injury. He was replaced in the squad but remained with the team in Australia. He has played eight Tests, 47 ODIs and 46 T20Is for Sri Lanka since making his international debut in November 2015.
