SYDNEY (Reuters) – Sri Lankan cricket authorities said on Sunday that Danushka Gunathilaka, a member of their team for the T20 World Cup tournament in Australia, had been arrested in Sydney over an alleged sexual assault.
Gunathilaka is due to face charges in court on Monday, Sri Lankan Cricket said. It said in a statement it would closely monitor court proceedings and, in consultation with the International Cricket Council, launch an inquiry into the matter.
Australian police said they had arrested a 31-year-old Sri Lankan national at a Sydney hotel shortly before 1 a.m. on Sunday (1400 GMT on Saturday) over the alleged sexual assault of a 29-year-old woman, and charged him with four counts of sexual intercourse without consent.
Police said the alleged assault occurred on Wednesday evening after the two had communicated for a number of days over a dating app.
“The pair met up in Sydney at a prearranged meeting. They had drinks and went for something to eat before going back to the young lady’s home,” said Detective Superintendent Jayne Doherty at a press conference.
“Police will allege that whilst they were in her home, the male assaulted the female a couple of times whilst performing sexual acts upon her.”
The 31-year-old batter played a first round match against Namibia at Geelong in Australia but was ruled out of the remainder of the World Cup with a hamstring injury.
The Sri Lankan team were eliminated in the group stage of the World Cup. They lost to England on Saturday night in their final match of the tournament.
(Reporting by Stella Qiu in Sydney and Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; Editing by William Mallard)
