Sri Lankan cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka given a clean chit in rape case

Sri Lankan top order batsman Danushka Gunathilaka is in the middle of an unwanted loop after the SLC suspended him for a year from all forms of international cricket. He was said to have breached the ‘Player Code of Conduct’, pending enquiry, owing to which the suspension was meted out to him. He was also fined 20 percent of his annual contract fees.

Moreover, the board also withheld his match fees for the recently concluded Test match between Sri Lanka and South Africa at Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo. Recently, in a shocking development, a Norwegian tourist accused the cricketer of rape along with his friend in the hotel in Colombo. She stated that Gunathilaka’s friend lured two of the tourists into their rooms and then went on to commit the crime.

We have arrested and remanded his friend

However, the Sri Lankan batsman has been given a clean chit pertaining to the matter. Nevertheless, his friend, a club cricketer in England, has been arrested. “We are not holding any further inquiries against this cricketer. SLC is free to investigate him for breaching the ‘Player Code of Conduct’.

We have arrested and remanded his friend who is alleged to have raped a Norwegian girl. It is a non-bailable offence. His friend is a club cricketer in England and he came to Sri Lanka to meet his father,” the Officer-In-Charge (OIC) of the Kollupitiya Police Station was quoted as saying by the media.

Earlier in October 2017, Gunathilaka was slapped with a six-match suspension, which was later reduced to three, after he skipped a training session during India’s tour of the nation. Later in January 2018, he was involved in an altercation in a contest against Bangladesh and was awarded one demerit point for his unsportsmanlike behaviour on the cricket pitch.

His performance with the cricketing gears has been impressive though. After a lacklustre outing in the opening match against the Proteas in Galle, the left-hander scored 57 and 61 respectively to carve the resounding series win for the home team.

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