Danushka Gunathilaka accused of repeatedly choking Sydney woman during alleged sexual assault

The
woman
alleged
that
she
was
sexually
assaulted
four
times
in
her
home
at
Sydney’s
Rose
Bay
on
November
2
after
going
out
for
a
date
with
the
international
cricketer,
who
was
here
as
part
of
the
Sri
Lankan
team
for
the
ongoing
T20
World
Cup.

Gunathilaka,
31,
was
later
arrested
from
his
team
hotel
by
Sydney
police,
even
as
other
members
of
the
Sri
Lankan
squad
returned
home
following
the
side’s
exit
in
the
Super
12
stage.
The
left-handed
batter
has
been
denied
bail
on
Monday
and
is
facing
a
maximum
sentence
of
14
years
in
prison.

In
her
complaint,
the
woman
alleged
that
Gunathilaka
tried
to
choke
her
three
times
during
the
sexual
assault.
“The
complainant
tried
to
remove
the
accused’s
hand
by
grabbing
his
wrist,
but
the
accused
squeezed
tighter
around
her
neck,”
Australian
media
reports
said
quoting
police
documents.

“The
complainant
was
fearing
for
her
life
and
could
not
get
away
from
the
accused.
She
continually
tried
to
pull
away
from
the
accused,
a
clear
indication
that
she
was
not
consenting.”

The
next
hearing
in
the
case
is
set
for
January
12.
Sri
Lanka
Cricket
(SLC)
has
taken
a
strong
note
of
the
incident
and
suspended
Gunathilaka
from
all
forms
of
the
game.

Shamed
by
the
incident,
the
Sri
Lankan
government
has
asked
SLC
to
conduct
an
immediate
investigation
into
the
matter.
Gunathilaka
played
against
Namibia
in
Sri
Lanka’s
first
round
match
and
was
out
for
a
duck.

He
was
later
ruled
out
of
the
tournament
due
to
an
injury
but
stayed
with
the
team
after
it
qualified
for
the
Super
12
stage.
Gunathilaka,
who
has
represented
Sri
Lanka
in
eight
Tests,
47
ODIs
and
46
T20
Internationals,
is
no
stranger
to
controversies.

In
2021,
he
was
suspended
by
SLC
for
one
year
after
he
breached
the
team’s
bio-secure
bubble
on
the
tour
of
England
along
with
teammates
Kusal
Mendis
and
Niroshan
Dickwella.

SLC
had
also
handed
him
a
six-month
ban
in
2018
after
he
had
broken
the
team
curfew.
In
the
same
year,
Gunathilaka
was
also
suspended
after
his
unnamed
friend
was
accused
of
raping
a
Norwegian
women.

In
2017,
the
board
had
suspended
him
for
six
limited
overs
games
after
it
learnt
about
Gunathilaka
missing
training
sessions
and
turning
up
for
a
game
without
his
cricket
gear.