After being detained and charged with four counts of sexual intercourse without consent, Sri Lankan batter Danushka Gunathilaka was denied bail by a Sydney court on Monday. The charges against Gunathilaka stem from their alleged involvement in a sexual encounter without his consent. On November 6, he was taken into custody quite early in the morning at the hotel where the team was staying in the central business district of Sydney.
The remaining members of the team subsequently returned to Sri Lanka via airplane.
Statement by Shammi Silva on Danushka Gunathilaka
Shammi Silva, the president of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), told ESPNcricinfo, “we are backing [Gunathilaka], definitely.” However, he declined to provide any other information.
Almost immediately, however, the board released a new statement on Monday, saying that Gunathilaka was suspended “from all forms of cricket with immediate effect.” This came after the board was told that Gunathilaka had been arrested and charged with the sexual assault of a lady in Australia.
The punishment is currently irrelevant because Gunathilaka is unable to leave Australia for the foreseeable future, which prevents him from playing for or training with the national team. As a result, the suspension is meaningless for the time being. Because of his history of disciplinary infractions, Gunathilaka has received at least three suspensions from the SLC. After a period of time had passed, the suspensions were significantly reduced in at least two of those instances.
Other statements by the SLC on Danushka Gunathilaka
The statement released by the SLC also included the following language: “shall take the appropriate procedures to immediately carry out an inquiry into the claimed offense and, upon conclusion of the court case in Australia, steps will be taken to penalize the said player if found guilty.”
The statement continued by saying that the SLC adopts a zero-tolerance policy for any such action by a player and will provide all the essential support to the Australian law enforcement authorities to carry out an impartial review of the occurrence.
The lawyer’s reaction to the verdict
Gunathilaka has no criminal history, according to Sydney magistrate Robert Williams, but his request for release was denied. Anand Amaranath, the attorney for Gunathilaka, described the verdict as “disappointing” and assured ESPNcricinfo that his client would file an appeal with the Supreme Court.
If granted bail, Gunathilaka would be freed from imprisonment (he is now in a prison), but he would have to stay in Australia “until the case is finalized,” according to Amaranath. The charges are significant, therefore it might take more than a year to complete the process.
Amaranath added that, at least initially, SLC would pay Gunathilaka’s legal costs. Amaranath stated, “I’ve been speaking with individuals from all levels at the board.
Gunathilaka’s defense was currently being paid for by the board, but he anticipated that those funds will be “recovered from him later – it’s basically a debt” from him.
The root of the incident
Detective Superintendent Jayne Doherty informed the media that the couple had met through a dating app. They spoke with each other via text, audio, and video chat between [their meeting on the app] and November 5th.
The two got together on Wednesday in Sydney for a pre-arranged rendezvous. Before returning to the young woman’s home, they drank drinks and went for a meal.
The guy allegedly repeatedly abused the female while committing sexual offenses against her while they were inside the house, according to police. Just unfortunate, that is. Meeting using a dating app is unrelated.
The male is receiving support from the Sri Lankan Consulate, as any foreign individual would if they were being investigated by the authorities.
New affirmative consent legislation was recently implemented in the state of New South Wales and went into effect in June of this year.
