Key Points
- Sri Lankan international cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka has been charged over the sexual assault of a woman in Sydney.
- Police said detectives launched an investigation on Saturday after receiving reports a 29-year-old woman had been sexually assaulted.
- Police allege the woman met Gunathilaka after communicating with him for several days on a dating app.
This article contains references to sexual assault.
Sri Lankan international cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka has been charged over the sexual assault of a woman in Sydney's eastern suburbs.
Police said detectives launched an investigation on Saturday after receiving reports a 29-year-old woman had been sexually assaulted at a Rose Bay home earlier in the week.
Police allege the woman met Gunathilaka after communicating with him on last Sunday on a dating app before the assault on Wednesday evening.
Between then, the pair allegedly communicated via text, voice and video chat.
The 31-year-old cricketer was arrested at a hotel in central Sydney early on Sunday morning and charged with four counts of sexual intercourse without consent.
Commander of the NSW Police sex crime squad Jayne Doherty said the pair arranged to meet on Wednesday, where they ate and had drinks before returning to the woman's home.
"Police will allege, whilst they were in the home, the male assaulted the female a number of times, whilst performing sexual acts upon her," she told reporters on Sunday.
He was refused bail at Parramatta Bail Court via video link and is due to appear at Waverley Local Court on Monday.
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) confirmed it was notified by the International Cricket Council (ICC) that its player was arrested.
In a statement, SLC said it would be monitoring the court proceedings and initiating a thorough inquiry with the ICC. It said the club would "take stern action against the player if found guilty".
Gunathilaka travelled to Australia with Sri Lanka's T20 World Cup team but didn't play after being ruled out of the competition with a hamstring tear.
The left-handed batsman has played nearly 100 T20 and one-day internationals for Sri Lanka as well as a handful of tests.
Sri Lanka bowed out of the T20 tournament on Saturday night after losing their final match to England.
If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit . In an emergency, call 000.
