Danushka Gunathilaka arrested in Sydney over alleged sexual assault amid T20 World Cup

Sri Lanka cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka has been reportedly taken into custody by the Sydney police amid the 2022 edition of the ICC World T20 2022 on Sunday. Charged by the local police in the aftermath of an alleged sexual assault incident, the Sri Lankan batter was arrested in the wee hours from the team hotel in Sydney.

As per the latest developments, Gunathilaka has been arrested after a 29-year-old woman was sexually assaulted at a residence in Rose Bay.

"The woman met with the man after communicating with him for a number of days via an online dating application; it's alleged he then sexually assaulted her on the evening of Wednesday 2 November 2022. As part of ongoing investigations, a crime scene examination was undertaken by specialist police at an address in Rose Bay yesterday," a New South Wales police statement said.

"Following further inquiries, a 31-year-old man was arrested at a hotel on Sussex Street, Sydney, shortly before 1am today (Sunday 6 November 2022). He was taken to Sydney City Police Station and charged with four counts of sexual intercourse without consent. The Sri Lankan national was refused bail to appear at Parramatta Bail Court via AVL [audio visual links] today," the police added.

Gunathilaka played no role in Sri Lanka's World Cup campaign during the Super 12 stage as the star batter was ruled out of the showpiece event in the first round. The Sri Lanka batter had missed the business end of the T20 World Cup due to a hamstring injury. Though Gunathilaka was replaced in the World Cup squad, the injured batter remained with the team in Australia.

Gunathilaka has played 8 Tests, 47 One Day Internationals (ODIs) and 46 T20Is for the Islanders. The 31-year-old made his international debut against the West Indies at the R.Premadasa Stadium in 2015. Former champions Sri Lanka bowed out of the T20 World Cup in the Super 12 stage of the ICC event.