SYDNEY: An Australian court on Monday refused bail for Sri Lankan cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka after he was charged with four counts of sexual assault.

Gunathilaka appeared wearing handcuffs by remote video link to the court in Sydney, speaking only to confirm his identity and that he could hear proceedings.

Sri Lanka Cricket said separately that it had suspended the batsman.

The 31-year-old, who was arrested Sunday just hours after his country lost to England in their final T20 World Cup match, appeared calm as he sat wearing a grey T-shirt and blue jeans in a detention centre in the city.

Gunathilaka’s bail application was heard in a closed session — without journalists present — after Magistrate Robert Williams agreed with a request from the prosecutor to suppress details of the allegations and other elements of the case.

The interim suppression order, which is scheduled to be reviewed by the court on Wednesday, was opposed by Gunathilaka’s defence and by a media legal representative.

Sri Lanka Cricket said that it had suspended the player “from all forms of the game with immediate effect”.

“Furthermore, Sri Lanka Cricket will take the necessary steps to promptly carry out an inquiry into the alleged offence, and, upon conclusion of the aforementioned court case in Austra­lia, steps will be taken to penalise the said player if found guilty,” it said.

It added that the board “adopts a ‘zero-tolerance’ policy for any such conduct by a player and will provide all the required support to the Australian law enforcement authorities to carry out an impartial inquiry into the incident”.

Gunathilaka was ruled out during the first round of the T20 World Cup with a hamstring injury but had remained with the team in Australia.

He made his international debut in 2015 and has played eight Tests, 47 ODIs and 46 T20s.

Published in Dawn, November 8th, 2022