Danushka Gunathilaka: Sri Lanka star banned from all forms of cricket

The 31-year-old Sri Lankan batter was arrested from the team hotel in Sydney on Sunday morning

Sri Lanka’s cricket board has suspended cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka from all forms of cricket with immediate effect after the national player was arrested and charged with sexual assault over the weekend.

In a statement on Monday, Sri Lanka’s cricket board said he will not be considered for any form of selections.

“The Executive Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket decided to suspend national player Danushka Gunathilaka from all forms of cricket with immediate effect.

“[SLC] will not consider him for any selections after being informed that Mr Gunathilaka was arrested and charged with sexual assault of a woman in Australia.

“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 penalise the said player if found guilty.

“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.”

The 31-year-old Sri Lankan batter was arrested from the team hotel in Sydney — where the T20 World Cup is going on — in the early hours of Sunday morning.

He was later denied bail by a Sydney court on Monday and will continue to remain in custody.

The player allegedly assaulted a 29-year-old woman at a residence in Rose Bay in Sydney earlier in the week.

He has featured in eight Tests, 47 ODIs and 46 T20s. While he was in Australia with the national team for the T20 world cup, he had been ruled out of the tournament.

The Sri Lankan team exited the World Cup at the Super 12s stage, losing their final match against England over the weekend.

Additional reporting by agencies