Sri Lanka international Danushka Gunathilaka charged with sexual assault

The batter, who was ruled out of the T20 World Cup in the first round with a hamstring injury, was arrested on November 6 at Sri Lanka's team hotel in Sydney

Sri Lanka international Danushka Gunathilaka has been charged with sexual assault while in Australia for the T20 World Cup.

The batter was arrested at the team hotel in Sydney on November 6 following a police investigation into reports that a 29-year-old woman had been sexually assaulted on November 2.

He has since been charged with four counts of sexual intercourse without consent.

A statement from New South Wales police said: "As part of ongoing investigations, a crime scene examination was undertaken by specialist police at an address in Rose Bay yesterday.

^{Gunathilaka was a member of Sri Lanka's Asia Cup-winning squad but was ruled out of the T20 World Cup through injury [Surjeet Yadav/Getty Images]}

"Following further inquiries, a 31-year-old man was arrested at a hotel on Sussex Street, Sydney, shortly before 1am today (November 6).

"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."

Sri Lanka Cricket responded to the news with the following statement: "SLC confirms that it was notified by the ICC that player Danushka Gunathilaka has been arrested on the allegations of sexual assault of a woman in Sydney, and Mr. Gunathilaka is due to appear in court tomorrow (November 7).

"SLC will closely monitor the proceedings in court and, in consultation with the ICC, will expeditiously initiate a thorough inquiry into the matter and take stern action against the player if found guilty."

Gunathilaka was ruled out of the tournament in the first round after suffering a hamstring injury but remained in Australia as a stand-by player as he had "already acclimatised to the conditions," SLC added.

The 31-year-old has made 101 appearances for Sri Lanka in all formats since making his international debut in an ODI against West Indies in 2015. He has scored 2,641 runs and taken 15 wickets.

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