Sri Lanka cricketer charged with sexual assault in Australia

A Sri Lankan cricketer was arrested and charged Sunday over the alleged sexual assault of a woman in Sydney, police said, just hours after the national team lost to England in the Twenty20 World Cup.

He was widely identified in local media as batsman Danushka Gunathilaka, who was ruled out of the World Cup during the first round with a hamstring injury. 

The 31-year-old was replaced in the squad but remained with the team in Australia.

"Sex Crimes Squad detectives have charged a Sri Lankan national following an investigation into the alleged sexual assault of a woman in Sydney’s east last week," New South Wales police said in a statement, without naming the man.

Police said the pair met after communicating for several days on a dating app.

"It's alleged he then sexually assaulted her on the evening of Wednesday November 2, 2022," the statement said.

The man was arrested at a hotel in Sydney in the early hours of Sunday morning and charged with four counts of sexual intercourse without consent.

He was refused bail.

Left-handed opener Gunathilaka made his international debut in 2015 and has played eight Tests, 47 ODIs and 46 T20s.

By AFP