Sri Lankan cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka was arrested on charges of rape in Sydney, Australia. Gunathilaka was ruled out of the T20 World Cup earlier due to an injury but stayed on with the team. The Sri Lankan team, which lost to England and thus ended its World Cup chances, is said to have returned without him. 

Danushka Gunathilaka is a Sri Lankan all-rounder. The
left-handed batsman and right-arm-off-break bowler plays for Colombo, a
first-class cricket club in Sri Lanka. His big break came at the 2017 Champions
Trophy. He was omitted from the starting lineup and only added as a last-minute
replacement, yet he made an impression right away. Opening the batting against
tournament favourites India, he hammered the bowlers all around with a 72-ball 76
to lay the groundwork for his team’s walkover of the score. 

The 31-year-old recently made headlines when he was seen
engaging in a heated argument with Afghanistan bowler Rashid Khan during Sri
Lanka vs Afghanistan clash in the Super Fours leg of the Asia Cup 2022. The
incident took place on September 3, when the Afghanistan
spinner was spotted speaking to the batsman after Danushka hit Khan for a
boundary. Later, Rashid Khan dismissed Gunathalika from the same position.

Also Read: Asia Cup 2022, India vs Pakistan: Mohammad Nawaz’s promotion the game-changer

Sri Lanka defeated Afghanistan in the Super 4.
Afghanistan reached 175/5 thanks to Rahmanullah Gurbaz, but they were able to
reach the mark with 5 balls remaining because of crucial innings from Kusal
Mendis, Danushka Gunathilaka, and Bhanuka Rajapaksa.

Who is Danushka Gunathilika? 

Danushka Gunathilaka was born on March 17, 1991 in
Panadura, Sri Lanka. He was brought up in a Buddhist religious family and
pursued a bachelor’s from Mahanama College in Colombo. His net worth is
estimated to be around Rs 150 Crore ($22 million). 

He was one of 33 cricketers who received a national
contract from Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) in preparation for the 2018–19 season.

However the good fortune lasted only for a few months
as the SLC suspended him from all international cricket in May 2019 after finding
that he had breached several codes of conduct.

Major
controversies 

Gunathilaka’s blossoming cricket career is plagued with
major controversies, often attributed to his habit of breaching codes of
conduct and usage of offensive language against his opponents. 

In March 2021, Gunathilaka was penalised by the International
Cricket Council for violating Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct. He had
allegedly used offensive language against West Indies batsman Nicholas Pooran
during the third One-Day International between Sri Lanka and the West Indies. 

A three-member inquiry panel found Gunathilaka’s conduct
to be unprofessional and lacking in integrity on April 28, 2021, when Sri Lanka
Cricket (SLC) censured him for his inappropriate behaviour in relation to
reports that he engaged in a physical altercation with a number of people
during an event at a hotel in Matara. In lieu of another cricket suspension, he
was told to attend mandatory counselling sessions for a year.

However, the most significant off-field issue that has
plagued Gunathilaka involves the time he broke curfew during a Test in Colombo
against South Africa – something he accepts he deserved punishment for.