A local court in Sydney on Monday refused bail to Sri Lankan cricketer Dhanushka Gunatilaka for sexually assaulting a woman after her country’s cricket board suspended her from all forms of cricket with immediate effect. Thirty-one-year-old Gunathilaka was arrested in the early hours of Sunday, just before the Sri Lankan team left for Australia. He attended the hearing via a video link at the Surrey Hills Department of the local court.
Guntilaka was handcuffed during her virtual appearance at the hearing, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. He was wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans. The report said that his lawyer Anand Amarnath had applied for bail during the hearing but Magistrate Robert Williams refused to grant bail. Amarnath was quoted as saying in the report, “Definitely we are looking at filing a petition in the Supreme Court and it will be done as soon as possible.” Surely he will be disappointed.
The Sri Lankan team left home without Gunatilaka after being knocked out of the T20 World Cup on Saturday. Amarnath said that he is aware that some officials of his team are currently in Australia. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) in Colombo suspended this cricketer. The country’s government had instructed Sri Lanka Cricket to launch an investigation into the incident. “The Executive Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has decided to suspend national team player Dhanushka Gunatilaka from all forms of cricket with immediate effect and will not be considered for selection,” Sri Lanka Cricket said in a statement. .
The Board took this decision after Gunatilaka was arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a woman in Australia. If the said player is found guilty in a court case, necessary steps will be taken to punish him. will provide all possible assistance to the Australian authorities.
Left-handed batsman Gunatilka played against Namibia in the first round and was dismissed without opening an account. After that he was ruled out of the tournament due to injury. The Sri Lankan team qualified for the Super 12 stage but finished fourth in Group I. According to local media, Gunatilka and the woman were in touch with each other for the past several days through an online dating app. Gunatilaka has a long history of controversies. Earlier in the tour of England in 2021, along with his teammates Kusal Mendis and Niroshan Dickwella, he was suspended for a year by the Sri Lanka Board for violating the bio-secure environment of the team.
In 2018, the board had banned the team for six months for violating the rules of the team. In the same year Gunatilka faced suspension after an unidentified friend of hers was accused of raping a Norwegian woman. The board also suspended Gunatilaka for six limited-overs matches in 2017 for not attending the practice session and arriving for a match without his cricketing equipment. Gunatilaka has played eight Tests, 47 ODIs and 46 T20 Internationals for Sri Lanka.
