Sri Lanka cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka granted bail on sexual assault charges

Sri Lanka cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka has been granted bail by the Downing Centre Local Court in the case of alleged sexual assault.

Danushka Gunathilaka wins bail in case of alleged sexual assault (Reuters)

By India Today Web Desk: Sri Lankan cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka has been granted bail on sexual assault charges after an Australian court heard that he had the support of the Sri Lankan cricket association and government, and a surety of $150,000 was offered.

Gunathilaka was arrested in the early hours of November 6 at the Hyatt Regency hotel on Sussex Street, before the Sri Lankan team flew home without him after losing to England in the T20 World Cup Super 12 match.

Gunathilaka had been detained for 11 nights after being denied bail in Downing Centre Local Court on November 7. His attorneys have filed a bail application in the NSW Supreme Court, which has been scheduled for a hearing on December 8.

He has been charged with four counts of sexual intercourse without consent after allegedly sexually assaulting a 29-year-old woman on November 2 in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, just days after they matched on Tinder. There have been no pleas entered.

However, the case resurfaced on Thursday in the Local Court docket when defense barrister Murugan Thangaraj, SC, applied for Gunathilaka’s release.

Gunathilaka played a first-round World Cup match against Namibia on October 16 but was ruled out of the remainder of the T20 tournament with a hamstring injury.

Earlier, Sri Lanka Cricket said that it would cooperate with Australian law enforcement but launched its own probe into “various alleged incidents” in Australia.

“The committee will also focus the inquiry on various alleged incidents that have come to the attention of Sri Lanka Cricket and that are said to have allegedly taken place during the national team’s stay in Australia,” an SLC statement read.

“The panel in this process will call for an immediate explanation from the team manager pertaining to his (the manager’s) conduct, with reference to the occurrence of such incidents.”