SLC Lifts Ban On Danushka Gunathilaka, Batter Eligible To Play For Sri Lanka Again After Being Cleared Of Rape Charges

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), on Tuesday (October 17), announced the full lifting of the ban on batsman Danushka Gunathilaka. The Sri Lankan batsman was banned by SLC in November 2022 after he was accused of rape in Australia.

The southpaw was in Australia with the Sri Lankan team for the T20 World Cup when he landed in trouble. The police charged him with four counts of sexual intercourse without consent following an alleged sexual assault in Sydney. A 29-year-old Sydney-based woman had lodged a complaint that she was sexually assaulted at her home in Rose Bay after she met the cricketer at a bar.

Before that, Danushka Gunathilaka and the woman had matched on the dating app Tinder. As the Australian authorities launched their investigation into the allegations, the SLC decided to act too and banned the cricketer from all forms of cricket with immediate effect.

SLC lifts ban on Danushka Gunathilaka:

The SLC has decided to lift the ban on Danushka Gunathilaka after the batter was cleared of all the charges last month. While he was charged with four counts of rape, three of them were dropped by the prosecution before trial, and only one count of “stealing” was taken up by the court. After a four-day long trial in front of Judge Sarah Huggett in the Downing Centre District Court, he was eventually acquitted.

Danushka Gunathilaka is now eligible to return to competitive cricket and can play for his national team once again. A media release from the SLC stated:

“After careful evaluation of Mr. Gunathilaka’s exoneration and with due consideration to his cricketing career and its impact on the cricketing ambitions of the nation, the Inquiry Panel, headed by Retired High Court Judge, Sisira Ratnayake, Mr. Niroshana Perera, Attorney at Law and Mr. Asela Rekawa Attorney at Law, unanimously recommended an immediate lifting of his cricketing ban, allowing him to resume regular cricket activities and return to national duty.”

Breaking ?
Independent Inquiry Committee appointed by SLC,which was tasked with investigating into the impact of the criminal allegations against @danushka_70 in ??,has recommended a full lifting of the ban imposed on him in 2022 – SLC
#sportspavilionlk #DanushkaGunathilaka pic.twitter.com/FkNSXA3nyM

— DANUSHKA ARAVINDA (@DanuskaAravinda) October 17, 2023

He has represented Sri Lanka in more than 100 games across formats. Danushka Gunathilaka has played 8 Tests, 47 ODIs, and 46 T20Is so far, scoring over 2500 runs with the help of 2 centuries and 16 half-centuries.