According to media reports quoting police documents, Sri Lankan cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka had allegedly strangled the woman during an attempt to rape. The woman alleged that she was sexually assaulted four times at her home in Sydney’s Rose Bay on November 2 after going on a date with the international cricketer, who was as part of the Sri Lankan squad for the ongoing T20 World Cup here. was. Gunathilaka, 31, was later arrested by Sydney Police from his team hotel, while other members of the Sri Lankan team returned home after being dropped in the Super 12 stage.
The left-handed batsman was denied bail on Monday and is facing a maximum jail term of 14 years.
The woman has alleged in her complaint that Gunathilaka tried to strangle her thrice during the sexual assault.
The Australian media report quoted police documents as saying, “The complainant tried to remove his hand by grasping the wrist of the accused, but the accused slit his throat tightly.”
“The complainant was fearing for her life and could not get away from the accused.
“She constantly tried to move away from the accused, a clear indication that she was not giving consent.” The next hearing of the case has been fixed for January 12.
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has taken a strong note of the incident and has suspended Gunathilaka from all forms of the game.
Embarrassed by the incident, the Sri Lankan government has asked the SLC to investigate the matter immediately.
Gunathilaka played in Sri Lanka’s first round match against Namibia and was dismissed for naught.
He was later ruled out of the tournament due to injury but remained with the team after qualifying for the Super 12 stage.
Having represented Sri Lanka in eight Tests, 47 ODIs and 46 T20 Internationals, Gunathilaka is no stranger to controversies.
In 2021, he was suspended by the SLC for a year after breaking the team’s bio-secure bubble on a tour of England along with teammates Kusal Mendis and Niroshan Dickwella.
The SLC also handed him a six-month ban in 2018 after breaking the team curfew. In the same year, Gunathilaka was also suspended after his unnamed friend was accused of raping a Norwegian woman.
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In 2017, the board suspended him for six limited overs games after he came to know about Gunathilaka missing training sessions and going for a game without his cricket gear.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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