Three out of four alleged sexual assault charges against Sri Lanka's Danushka Gunathilaka dropped

Sri Lankan batter Danushka Gunathilaka won in court after the public prosecutor dropped three of the four alleged sexual assault charges against him on Thursday, several media reports suggest. Gunathilaka was accused of raping a Sydney woman sometime during October-November last year during the T20 World Cup in Australia.

The left-handed batter, who met a 29-year-old girl for a date in Sydney in November 2022, was said to have raped her when both returned to her home in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. He was facing four counts of sexual intercourse without consent; however, those charges have now been dropped.

Meanwhile, in the police facts sheet filed with the court, the woman in question here, 'feared for her life and could not get away from the accused' during the November 2022 incident. The police statement also stated that “the complainant was too afraid to do anything,” and further alleged that Gunathilaka had choked her twice more.

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As per the statement, “The complainant was clear that she did not consent to engaging in sexual intercourse without a condom. Further, the complainant did not consent to sexual intercourse that involved choking.”

The 32-year-old travelled to Australia with the T20 WC squad but could feature in only one game as he got ruled out later with a hamstring tear. Following Sri Lanka's dismal show at the mega event and as they were supposed to head back to their country on November 6th, Gunathilaka was arrested in the early hours from the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Sussex Street.

In no time, the Sri Lankan cricketer got suspended from all forms of the game.

As things stand, Gunathilaka is currently on bail on the condition of reporting to the police daily with his passport already being surrendered to the police. The Sri Lankan cricketer is allowed a mobile phone but cannot use dating applications, including Tinder - the app on which he met that Sydney woman.

Although he can use other social media applications, including Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, Gunathilaka cannot use them to facilitate or arrange dating.

Also, securities totalling $200,000 are attached to his bail and would be forfeited for any failure to comply.

Following the request by his solicitor Alen Sahinovic for the case to return to the court on July 13th, Gunathilaka will be present to make a plea.

Talking about his records the stylish batter has played nine Tests, 47 ODIs and 46 T20I matches for Sri Lanka, scoring 299, 1601 and 741 runs in each format, respectively.