Sri Lanka cricket star Danushka Gunathilaka charged with rape in Australia
By Angus Watson, CNN
Sri Lanka international cricket player Danushka Gunathilaka has been charged with rape after he was arrested at his team’s hotel late on Saturday night, according to Australian police.
At a news conference in Sydney on Sunday, New South Wales Police Commander Jayne Doherty said Gunathilaka, 31, has been charged with four counts of “sexual intercourse without consent” against a 29-year-old woman in the city whom he met online.
Police allege Gunathilaka “assaulted [the woman] a number of times while performing sex acts upon her,” Doherty said.
The cricketer has been refused bail and will appear in a Sydney court on Monday, she added.
The arrest came just hours after Sri Lanka lost a T20 World Cup match against England.
Gunathilaka, who was earlier ruled out of the tournament due to injury, made his international debut in 2015. Since then, the left-handed batsman has played in eight test matches, 47 one-day internationals (ODI) and 46 T20I games for his country.
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