Sri Lankan batsman Danushka Gunathilaka performs a shot through the second T20 match against India, at Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Sri Lankan cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka, who was accused of rape by a girl final 12 months, had three out of his four sexual assault charges dropped right here on May 18.
Gunathilaka was charged with four counts of sexual intercourse with out consent for which the 32-year-old had been arrested by the Sydney police from the workforce lodge final November through the T20 World Cup.
However, the general public prosecutor withdrew three of the charges in a Sydney court docket.
According to the police, the Sri Lankan batter and the 29-year-old girl met by way of a courting app. After their date, the 2 returned to the girl’s house at Sydney’s Rose Bay the place Gunathilaka allegedly choked her and raped her.
“Prosecutor Hugh Buddin, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, told the court one charge had been certified but the remaining three counts of sexual intercourse without consent had been withdrawn,” the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
The remaining cost, in keeping with the police information sheet filed with the Downing Centre Local Court, is that the Sri Lankan engaged in “forceful” sexual intercourse, throughout which he allegedly “put one hand around her neck for 20 to 30 seconds and choked her”.
Gunathilaka allegedly restricted the girl’s respiration for six seconds, earlier than she “tried to remove the accused’s hand by grabbing his wrist, but the accused squeezed tighter around her neck for a further 10 seconds”.
The girl “was fearing for her life and could not get away from the accused,” in keeping with the police information sheet.
Gunathilaka was half of the Sri Lankan workforce for the T20 World Cup workforce final 12 months. However, he solely performed of their first sport against Namibia. He was dominated out of the event on account of a hamstring tear.
Gunathilaka, who has represented Sri Lanka in eight Tests, 47 ODIs and 46 T20 Internationals, isn’t any stranger to controversies.
In 2021, he was suspended by SLC for one 12 months after he breached the workforce’s bio-secure bubble on the tour of England together with teammates Kusal Mendis and Niroshan Dickwella.
SLC had additionally handed him a six-month ban in 2018 after he had damaged the workforce curfew. In the identical 12 months, Gunathilaka was additionally suspended after his unnamed buddy was accused of raping a Norwegian girls.
In 2017, the board had suspended him for six limited-overs video games after it learnt about Gunathilaka lacking coaching classes and turning up for a sport with out his cricket gear.
