Sri Lankan Cricketer Suspended From All Forms of Cricket Over Sexual Assault Charges
Danushka Gunathilaka was arrested on Sunday over sexual assault of a woman in Sydney
Sri Lanka Cricket, on Monday (November 7) suspended cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka from all forms of cricket with immediate effect after he was arrested in Sydney on Sunday over the sexual assault of a woman at the T20 World Cup 2022.
The incident happened a day after Sri Lanka ended their T20 World Cup 2022 campaign in Australia after their defeat to England on Saturday. The Sydney police have taken Gunathilaka in custody while the rest of the team has returned back to Sri Lanka.
Statement From SLC Over Danushka Gunathilaka Suspension:
“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 offence, and, upon conclusion of the aforementioned court case in Australia, steps will be taken to penalise the said player if found guilty.”
“Sri Lanka Cricket wishes to emphasise 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.”
The left-handed batter played against Namibia in the qualifier match of the marquee event and was dismissed for a duck. Later, he was ruled out of the tournament due to an injury and didn’t play a single match for the Island nation.
