Sri Lanka have suspended cricket star Danushka Gunathilaka after he was charged with raping a woman in Sydney during the T20 World Cup.

Gunathilaka, 31, was arrested in the early hours of Sunday morning and was charged with four counts of rape after an alleged incident in Sydney on November 2. He was denied bail on Monday and Sri Lanka have confirmed he has been suspended from all forms of cricket with immediate effect.

A statement read: "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."

New South Wales police state Gunathilaka had met the woman on an online dating app and had been communicating with her for several days.

He was arrested at the Sri Lanka team hotel just hours after his side's defeat to England, with the 31-year-old having been ruled out with injury.

Gunathilaka played in the first match of the T20 World Cup against Namibia but remained with the squad in Australia before their planned departure on Sunday morning.

Speaking outside court on Monday, his lawyer Ananda Amaranath said: "He was hoping it would get to court on Sunday, so he‘s disappointed that didn’t happen, but he is holding up OK.

“He is quite concerned about what will happen if he can’t get back to Sri Lanka. These are serious charges and it could take a year or more for this to be finalised, so he is very worried about that too."

Source Daily Mail

BDST: 1938 HRS, NOV 7, 2022
MSK