Sri Lanka cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka, who is undergoing a rape trial in Australia has received a breath of fresh air as the Sydney Downing Centre District Court eased his bail conditions to allow domestic travel within the country. The court has given him the liberty to travel on two specific occasions in a month if he informs the police in advance about his itinerary. The southpaw had pleaded not guilty to raping a local woman in Sydney during his stay in the T20 World Cup 2022.
Gunathilaka appeared in court recently and requested leniency on his bail conditions. As per the latest verdict by the Acting judge, Graeme Henson Gunathilaka needs to inform the police 48 hours in advance with his itinerary and can then travel domestically. The 32-year-old has been asked to report to the local police three times a week and is prohibited from using dating apps. He can also use only one mobile phone.
The Panadura-born was initially granted bail on November 17 last year and was told to surrender his passport. He was also forbidden from approaching international departure points.
Coming back to where it all started, Gunathilaka was taken into custody by the local police in Sydney back in November last year when he was about to leave the country alongside his Sri Lankan teammates as soon as Sri Lanka's T20 World Cup 2022 campaign ended.
He was arrested and charged with raping a 29-year-old woman at her home in Sydney. As per the police, the cricketer came across the woman's profile on an online dating site and the two met in person after that to have drinks together. It is alleged that Gunathilaka turned a deaf ear to the woman's request to "take it slow" and sexually assaulted her at her residence in Sydney.
Sri Lanka Cricket suspended the left-handed batter from all forms of cricket with immediate effect as soon as he was charged and arrested with four counts of sexual intercourse without consent.
