Problems aplenty for Danushka Gunathilaka! SL batter accused of choking woman during alleged rape assault
Danushka Gunathilaka has been suspended from all cricket by SLC.
More miseries follow suit for the Sri Lankan cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka. The left-handed batter, whose image has been tarnished after being involved in rape charges,has beenaccused of sexually assaulting a woman in Australia on several occasions before choking her immensely. He allegedly choked her so hard that the woman had to requirea brain scan, as reported by a local media on Wednesday (November 09).
The 31-year-old Gunathilaka has been under the scanner after beingcharged with four counts of sexual assault and already being denied bail. Despite all the serious accusations, the senior batter maintains being innocent. In a statement, shared by his law firm, it pointed out, "Danushka Gunathilaka maintains his innocence of all charges. Given the early stages of proceedings, we do not wish to make any further comment and will allow for the matter to be properly ventilated before the Court."
Speaking about the whole incident, Gunathilaka was reportedly in touch with a woman via a dating app before they met in person recently. They hit it off and then travelled by ferry to the woman's house. After several drinks, the batter allegedly forced himself on her multiple times and even refused to wear a protection. Sri Lanka Cricket has suspended the batsman "from all forms of the game with immediate effect".
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Gunathilaka's life has turned upside down ever since he was caught in the middle of this controversy Down Under. The cricketer was arrested on Sunday (November 06) shortly after Dasun Shanaka-led Sri Lanka bowed out of the ongoing T20 World Cup, with a defeat to England in their last Super 12 round. Following this, he was suspended with immediate effect from the Sri Lanka Cricket Board (SLC), making him ineligible for selection from all forms of cricket.
Media release of the SLC:
The Executive Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket decided to suspend national player Danushka Gunathilaka from all forms of cricket with immediate effect and will not consider him for any selections after being informed that Mr. Gunathilaka was arrested and charged with sexual assault of a woman in Australia.
Furthermore, 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.