Sri Lanka Cricket suspend Danushka Gunathilaka from all forms of cricket following sexual assault allegations

Sri Lanka batter Danushka Gunathilaka has been suspended by the Executive Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket with immediate effect following his arrest from a Sydney hotel on Sunday, November 6 with charges of four counts of sexual intercourse without consent pressed against him. 

The cricketer was produced before a Sydney court on Monday, November 7 seeking bail for the sexual assault charges pressed against him. However, the Sri Lankan cricket board had already warned him of dire consequences if he is found guilty, and they have first decided to penalize the disgraced batter by making him unavailable for national selection following this incident. 

Danushka Gunathilaka penalized by SLC 

In an official statement released by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) on Monday, November 7, it has been mentioned that Danushka Gunathilaka will not be eligible for any selections following this controversial incident where he has been accused of sexually assaulting an Australian women by forceful means without her consent. 

"Furthermore, Sri Lanka Cricket will take the necessary steps to promptly carry out an inquiry into the alleged offense, and, upon conclusion of the aforementioned court case in Australia, steps will be taken to penalize the said player if found guilty", the statement read.

"Sri Lanka Cricket wishes to emphasize that it adopts a "zero tolerance" policy for any such conduct by a player and will provide all the required support to the Australian law enforcement authorities to carry out an impartial inquiry into the incident", it added.

Gunathilaka was sidelined from the team after sustaining a hamstring during the first round of the ICC T20 World Cup 2022. However, he remained with the Sri Lankan team right throughout their tournament in Australia. The Lankans could only manage victories over teams like Ireland, and Afghanistan which did no justice to their semifinal qualification scenarios as the Asia Cup holders ended their campaign following a loss to England in their final Super 12 game.