Sydney: Sri Lankan cricketer Dhanushka Gunathilaka was on Thursday granted bail for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman during the team’s T20 World Cup 2022 campaign in Australia, but he was denied bail during the trial. Banned from using social media account.
The suspended Gunathilaka, who has been in custody at the Parkalia Correctional Center since being denied bail on November 7, appeared in Sydney’s Downing Center court via video link, reported ESPNcricinfo. Gunathilaka (31 years) was arrested in the early hours of November 6 on charges of alleged sexual assault.
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According to the report, “Magistrate Janet Wahlquist granted bail to Gunathilaka at Sydney’s Downing Center Court on Thursday in which he appeared via ‘audiovisual link’ from Parkalia Prison.” According to it, “Police prosecutor Kerry Ann McKinnon opposed the grant of bail to Gunathilaka on the grounds that he could be a threat to the safety of the complainant who cannot be identified for legal reasons.”
Gunathilaka (Danushka Gunathilaka) is facing four cases for having sex without consent. Bail conditions include paying 150,000 Australian dollars ($100,620), ‘surrendering’ passport, reporting to police twice, ‘curfew’ from 9 pm to 6 am, apart from banning the use of Tinder, social media and dating apps. and not contacting the complainant.
The Sri Lankan Cricket Board suspended Gunathilaka from all forms of cricket soon after his arrest. Citing police documents, the report said Gunathilaka repeatedly strangled the victim during the sexual assault because he was afraid of being caught.
Gunathilaka can face a maximum sentence of 14 years if the charge is proved. Gunathilaka, a left-handed batsman, played in Sri Lanka’s first round match against Namibia and was dismissed without scoring. After this 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, Gunathilaka and the woman were in touch with each other for the past several days through an online dating app. Gunatilaka has an old association with 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 Lankan board for violating the team’s bio-secure environment.
In 2018 too, the board had banned him for six months for violating team rules. In the same year, Gunatilaka had to face suspension after an unknown friend of his was accused of raping a Norwegian woman. The board had also suspended Gunathilaka for six limited-overs matches in 2017 for skipping a practice session and arriving for a match without his cricket gear. Gunathilaka has played eight Tests, 47 ODIs and 46 T20 Internationals for Sri Lanka.(Agency)