Sri Lankan cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka, who was accused of rape by a girl final 12 months, had three out of his 4 sexual assault fees dropped in  Sydney on Thursday. Gunathilaka was charged with 4 counts of sexual activity with out consent for which the 32-year-old had been arrested by the Sydney police from the staff lodge final November throughout the T20 World Cup. However, the general public prosecutor withdrew three of the costs in a Sydney court docket. According to the police, the Sri Lankan batter and the 29-year-old girl met by way of a courting app. After their date, the 2 returned to the lady’s residence at Sydney’s Rose Bay the place Gunathilaka allegedly choked her and raped her.

“Prosecutor Hugh Buddin, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, told the court one charge had been certified but the remaining three counts of sexual intercourse without consent had been withdrawn,” the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

The remaining cost, in line with the police information sheet filed with the Downing Centre Local Court, is that the Sri Lankan engaged in “forceful” sexual activity, throughout which he allegedly “put one hand around her neck for 20 to 30 seconds and choked her”.

Gunathilaka allegedly restricted the lady’s respiration for six seconds, earlier than she “tried to remove the accused’s hand by grabbing his wrist, but the accused squeezed tighter around her neck for a further 10 seconds”.

The girl “was fearing for her life and could not get away from the accused,” in line with the police information sheet.

Gunathilaka was a part of the Sri Lankan staff for the T20 World Cup staff final 12 months. However, he solely performed of their first sport towards Namibia. He was dominated out of the event resulting from a hamstring tear.

Gunathilaka, who has represented Sri Lanka in eight Tests, 47 ODIs and 46 T20 Internationals, is not any stranger to controversies.

In 2021, he was suspended by SLC for one 12 months after he breached the staff’s bio-secure bubble on the tour of England together with teammates Kusal Mendis and Niroshan Dickwella.

SLC had additionally handed him a six-month ban in 2018 after he had damaged the staff curfew. In the identical 12 months, Gunathilaka was additionally suspended after his unnamed pal was accused of raping a Norwegian girls.

In 2017, the board had suspended him for six restricted overs video games after it learnt about Gunathilaka lacking coaching periods and turning up for a sport with out his cricket gear.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV workers and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)