This decision was revealed in court documents on Thursday. In November, Australian authorities had charged Gunathilaka with four counts of sexual intercourse without consent involving a 29-year-old woman. The alleged incident was said to have occurred after several days of communication through a dating app.

Notably, three of the four sexual assault charges against the 32-year-old cricketer were dropped in May, leaving him solely charged with “stealthing,” which involves the non-consensual removal of a condom during sexual activity.

Judge Sarah Huggett, in her assessment, concluded that the evidence indicated that Gunathilaka had no opportunity to remove the condom because the intercourse was continuous.

Prosecutors had contended that Gunathilaka had deliberately provided false statements during a police interview, but Judge Huggett disagreed, suggesting that his responses were likely due to “confusion, fatigue, a language barrier, and possibly memory.”

Gunathilaka had been required to surrender his passport during the trial, but media reports now confirm that he is free to return to Sri Lanka.

Speaking to reporters outside the court, Gunathilaka expressed his gratitude, stating, “I think the judge’s verdict says everything. I just want to thank people who helped me during this sad time, and the last 11 months have been really hard for me.”

Top-order batsman Danushka Gunathilaka was with the Sri Lankan team to take part in the T20 World Cup. Gunathilaka was ruled out of the tournament due to a hamstring injury. He was then accused of sexual harassment.

He was arrested on November 6 from the Sri Lankan team hotel Hayat Regency. When she was taken to court, she was charged with four counts of rape. It is said that he did such an act without the consent of the partner.

The Sri Lankan Cricket Board has suspended Danushka Gunathilaka from all forms of cricket indefinitely. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) president Shammi Silva told ESPNcricinfo, “We are definitely supporting Gunathilaka, but he is being expelled from all forms of cricket. Gunathilaka has been arrested and charged with sexually assaulting a woman in Australia. ‘

Gunathilaka has played more than 100 international matches in the national team jersey. The batsman was also in the match against Namibia in the opening match of the ongoing T20 World Cup. However, in that match, the left-handed batsman was out of the World Cup due to injury.

Earlier in 2018, Gunathilaka was accused of rape by a Norwegian woman. At that time, Sri Lanka Cricket sacked him. However, he was later acquitted as the charges were not proven.

Gunathilaka met the 29-year-old woman through a dating app, according to New South Wales Police.

On November 2, the Sri Lankan cricketer sexually assaulted her on the pretext of meeting her on Wednesday evening. Gunathilaka was arrested from Sydney’s team hotel on Sunday morning after the victim complained to the police.

New South Wales Police said in a statement that after interrogation, the 31-year-old man (Gunathilaka) was arrested from a hotel on Sussex Street in Sydney. She has been taken to Sydney’s City Police Station and has been charged with having sex four times without consent. When the Sri Lankan national was produced in a virtual court, the court rejected his bail plea. ’

Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan Cricket Board (SLC) has banned Gunathilaka from all forms of cricket. The Sri Lankan board confirmed the matter in a statement on Monday.

Gunathilaka, 31, was arrested at about 1 am on 6th Nov after a woman, 29, made a complaint to the police last week. He was taken to Sydney City Police Station and charged with four counts of sexual assault. Police allege the cricketer sexually assaulted the woman he met in Rose Bay on Wednesday after they had been chatting on an online dating application for several days, ABC News reports.

On Saturday, detectives from the Sex Crimes Squad and Eastern Suburbs police formed Strike Force Veteran to investigate the allegations.
“The woman met with the man after communicating with him for several days via an online dating application; it’s alleged he then sexually assaulted her on the evening of Wednesday 2 November 2022,” the New South Wales police said in a statement.

“As part of ongoing investigations, a crime scene examination was undertaken by specialist police at an address in Rose Bay. Gunathilaka was ruled out of the T20 World Cup during the first round with a hamstring injury. He was replaced in the squad but remained with the team in Australia.

He has played eight Tests, 47 ODIs, and 46 T20Is for Sri Lanka since making his international debut in November 2015. Sri Lanka’s tournament ended on Sunday following a defeat in their final group match against England at the SCG.