Danushka Gunathilaka will be allowed to return to domestic and international cricket after being found not guilty of sexual assault.
Although Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) had supported Gunathilaka through his legal proceedings in Australia, going as far as to pay his legal fees – which the board said Gunathilaka is obligated to pay back – the board had suspended him from all forms of cricket in November 2022, while the legal process was ongoing.
But an “independent inquiry committee” appointed by SLC has now recommended an “immediate lifting of [Gunathilaka’s] cricketing ban, allowing him to resume regular activities and return to national duty”. Gunathilaka, 32, has himself expressed a strong desire to return to training and cricket since being found not guilty in a Sydney court on September 23.
He has also stated he would pursue compensation from the Australian government. Gunathilaka was required to remain in Australia during the course of the legal process, and had various other restrictions imposed upon him, such as a ban on his use of dating apps and social media, though these were relaxed over time.
However, Gunathilaka did enjoy the public support of some public figures through this time, including present and former cricketers, and a government minister.
This had been the latest of the suspensions imposed on Gunathilaka by SLC. He had previously been suspended on three separate occasions for disciplinary breaches, the last of which had come in June 2021, when he – along side Kusal Mendis and Niroshan Dickwella – had breached the Sri Lanka team’s bio-secure bubble in England.
