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Sri Lankan cricketer Dhanushka Gunathilaka was released on bail on Thursday but banned from using his social media accounts while awaiting trial on charges of allegedly sexually assaulting a woman during the team’s T20. Globalism Australian Cup campaign.
According to a report in ESPNcricinfo, the now-arrested hitter appeared at Downing Center Court in Sydney via video link from Barclay Correctional Centre, where he has been held since being denied bail on November 7.
Gunathilaka, 31, was arrested in Sydney in the early hours of November 6 following an investigation into the alleged sexual assault of a woman on November 2, even as the team flew out of the country after being eliminated at the Super 12 stage.
“Justice Janet Walckist granted bail to Jonathilaka on Thursday at Downing Center Local Court in Sydney, where he appeared via audiovisual link from Barclay Prison,” the report stated.
“The Chief Constable of Police, Kerry Ann McKinnon, opposed bail on the grounds that Gonatilaka posed a flight risk and that it could endanger the safety of the complainant, who cannot be identified for legal reasons.”
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Gunathilaka is facing four counts of sexual intercourse without his consent and has yet to file any plea.
Besides a ban on the use of Tinder, social media and dating apps, bail conditions include A$150,000 bond (US$100,620), passport surrender, twice-daily police report, 9pm-6am curfew, and no contact with complainant .
The Sri Lanka Cricket Board suspended Gunathilaka from all forms of cricket soon after his arrest.
Reports, citing police documents, said that Gunathilaka’s victim was choked repeatedly and “feared for her life” during his alleged sexual assault.
The woman has alleged she was sexually assaulted four times at her home in Sydney’s Rose Bay on November 2 after going out on a date with the cricketer, who was here as part of the Sri Lankan squad for the T20 World Cup.
Gunathilaka was later arrested by Sydney police from his team’s hotel, even as other members of the Sri Lankan squad had returned home.
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Left-handed batter faces a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.
Gunathilaka played against Namibia in Sri Lanka’s first round match and was out for a duck.
He was later ruled out of the tournament due to injury but stayed with the team after qualifying for the Super 12 stage.
Gunathilaka, who has represented Sri Lanka in eight Tests, 47 ODIs and 46 T20 Internationals, is no stranger to controversies.
In 2021, he was suspended by the SLC for one year after puncturing the team’s bio-security bubble on the tour of England with teammates Kusal Mendis and Niroshan Dickwella.
The SLC also handed him a six-month ban in 2018 after he violated the team’s 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 matches after learning that Gunathilaka had missed practice sessions and appeared in a game without his cricket equipment.
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