Sydney: Sri Lankan cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka, arrested for sexually assaulting a woman during the T20 World Cup, was denied bail after a hearing at a local court here on Monday.
He attended the hearing at Downing Center Local Court via a video link from the Surry Hills cell.
Gunathilaka, 31, was arrested in the early hours of Sunday following an investigation into the alleged sexual assault of a woman on November 2.
According to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald, during the virtual appearance at the hearing, Gunthilak was handcuffed and wore a gray T-shirt, blue jeans and a thong.
The report said his lawyer Anand Amarnath applied for bail during a “closed court” hearing and Magistrate Robert Williams refused bail.
“Definitely, we are considering an application in the Supreme Court and it will be done at the earliest,” Amarnath was quoted as saying in the report.
“He’ll be disappointed, clearly.” The Sri Lankan team left Australia without a gun after being knocked out of the T20 World Cup on Saturday.
Amarnath said he understands that “some of the team’s officials remain in the country”. He also said that Gunathilaka has no family in Australia.
The left-hander played against Namibia in the first round match of the current showpiece and was dismissed for naught. Later, he was ruled out of the tournament due to injury while the team qualified for the Super 12 stage. Sri Lanka’s team finished fourth in Group 1.
According to local media reports, Gunathilaka and the woman were in touch for several days after they connected through an online dating app. The arrest was made from a Sydney hotel hours before the Sri Lankan team left for Australia.
The Sri Lankan government has asked Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) to conduct an immediate inquiry. The SLC has made it clear that if found guilty, it will take strict action against the player.
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 board 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.
In 2017, the board suspended him for six limited-overs games after Gunathilaka went missing training sessions and turned up for a game without his cricket gear.
He has represented Sri Lanka in eight Tests, 47 ODIs and 46 T20 Internationals. PTI
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