Sri Lankan international cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka could spend his summer staring at the walls of a Sydney prison cell, where he is in custody for the alleged sexual assault of a woman, after he was refused bail by a magistrate and had his case adjourned to January.
His lawyer has indicated he is considering urgently applying for bail in the NSW Supreme Court.
Gunathilaka, 31, has been suspended by Sri Lanka Cricket from all forms of the game after he was arrested on Sunday while packing his bags at the team hotel on Sussex Street for a 3.30am departure to Sri Lanka, following the side’s Twenty20 World Cup loss to England at the SCG on Saturday night.
Danushka Gunathilaka will consider urgently applying for bail in the NSW Supreme Court, his lawyer has said.Credit:Facebook
Gunathilaka has been charged with four counts of sexual intercourse without consent and spent Sunday night in custody. The Sri Lanka squad flew home without him.
Gunathilaka travelled to Australia with Sri Lanka’s T20 World Cup team but only played in their first game, a loss against Namibia, before being ruled out of the competition with a hamstring tear. He has played nearly 100 one-day and T20 internationals for Sri Lanka as well as a handful of Tests.
Gunathilaka was arrested over an alleged sexual assault.Credit:AP
Gunathilaka appeared via video link in Downing Centre Local Court on Monday from Surry Hills cells handcuffed and wearing a grey T-shirt, blue jeans and thongs, as his lawyer Ananda Amaranath made a bail application.
Interim suppression orders were made and there will be a further hearing on Wednesday to determine their continuation.
The bail application was heard in closed court and about a dozen reporters waited in the corridor for news of the outcome. Magistrate Robert Williams refused bail and the case was adjourned to January 12, a period of nine-and-a-half weeks.
“Certainly, we are considering an application to the Supreme Court … and that will be done as soon as possible,” Amaranath said outside court on Monday. “He’ll be disappointed, clearly.”
Lawyer Ananda Amaranath speaks to reporters outside court on Monday.Credit:Sarah McPhee
Amaranath confirmed Gunathilaka has no family in Australia but said he had “a lot of support”, including from the Sri Lanka High Commission in Canberra and the Sri Lanka Cricket board.
He said he understood some team officials remained in the country.
Amaranath had earlier said his client was “holding on well considering the circumstances”.
Gunathilaka appeared in court via video link on Monday.Credit:Instagram
Sri Lanka Cricket secretary Mohan de Silva, who is in Australia for a series of International Cricket Council meetings, said they had retained lawyers to “look after his [Gunathilaka’s] interests”.
He labelled the “media hype” as “very unacceptable” and claimed it had been “blown up”.
In a statement, Sri Lanka Cricket said its executive committee had decided to suspend the player and “not to consider him for any selection” after being informed of the charges.
“Sri Lanka Cricket will take necessary steps to promptly carry out an inquiry into the alleged offence,” it said.
“Sri Lanka Cricket will have zero tolerance for any such conduct of the players and will provide all required support to law enforcement authorities of Australia over the incident. Every accused person is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty and therefore will take every step possible to assist [Gunathilaka] in his legal battle.”
Gunathilaka was awarded a sporting scholarship to Mahanama College at 16. He soon advanced to the Sri Lankan under-19 side as a batsman and occasional off-spinner and debuted for the national side at 24 against West Indies in Colombo.
In a statement, Sri Lanka Cricket said its executive committee had decided to suspend Gunathilaka.Credit:Facebook
However, the 31-year-old has sometimes struggled with the discipline of international cricket on and off the field.
“He developed a Shane Warne lifestyle without Shane Warne’s ability,” a source close to Sri Lankan cricket said. “He wasn’t a popular player with the public, but seems to be well-connected with Sri Lanka Cricket.”
Gunathilaka first got into trouble in October 2017 having missed training one day and turning up to the dressing room the next day without his kit bag. He was suspended for six games, later reduced.
Sri Lanka Cricket later suspended Gunathilaka for six matches for breaching curfew while he was still serving a suspended sentence for the previous indiscretion. Despite this, the suspension ensured he was still available for tours of Australia and New Zealand.
Last year he was one of three players sent home from England for breaching bio-secure bubble protocols and was handed a one-year suspension, later reduced to six months. An inquiry had found a lack of remorse from Gunathilaka and recommended medical counselling.
Gunathilaka’s disciplinary problems have been compounded by regular hamstring injuries, which kept him out of Sri Lanka’s T20 World Cup team for the past three weeks.
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