News
Sri Lankan Cricketer Accused of Rape Sees Bail Conditions Eased
A prominent Sri Lankan cricket player, who had been stuck in Australia for over eight months, has been granted permission for domestic travel following a relaxation of his bail terms.
Danushka Gunathilaka, dressed in black pants and a heavy black jacket, made an appearance at the Sydney Downing Centre District Court on Tuesday to seek leniency regarding his bail conditions.
Gunathilaka, who has maintained his innocence, had been charged with the rape of a woman at her Sydney residence while he was in Australia participating in the T20 World Cup last year.
The cricketer was apprehended and charged in November of the previous year as he was about to return to Sri Lanka alongside his teammates. Consequently, he had been prohibited from leaving the country.
Initially granted bail on November 17 under strict conditions such as surrendering his passport and avoiding international departure points, Gunathilaka, aged 32, approached the court on Tuesday to request a revision of his bail terms. His plea was to allow him to travel within Australia on two separate occasions within the current month.
Acting Judge Graeme Henson consented to temporarily lift the restriction on approaching international departure points for four days this week and another four days at the end of the month. The judge stipulated that Gunathilaka must notify the police at least 48 hours in advance, providing details of his trip’s duration, location, and itinerary for any domestic travel.
However, the 32-year-old cricketer is still required to check in with the police three times a week, and he is limited to possessing only one mobile phone. Additionally, due to the pending allegations, he is prohibited from accessing dating sites or apps.
According to the police’s account, Gunathilaka matched with a woman on a dating app and engaged in several online conversations before meeting in person. After the meeting, they had drinks in the city before heading to the woman’s residence in Sydney’s eastern suburbs around 11 pm, as stated by the police report.
Allegedly, Gunathilaka disregarded the woman’s request to proceed slowly and instead assaulted her sexually within her residence. The police contend that the cricketer engaged in forceful intercourse during which he reportedly choked the woman on three occasions.
The woman expressed to the police that fear had immobilized her, preventing her from taking any action. She claimed that she had only consented to sexual activity with the cricket player under the condition that he use a condom. Later, she found the condom discarded on the floor next to the bed.
The court was informed that the sexual assault charge was connected to “stealing,” which involves the unauthorized removal of a condom during intercourse.
Gunathilaka is scheduled for a trial by a judge alone in September.
Source: The Australian
දූෂණය පිළිබඳ චෝදනාවට ලක්වූ ශ්රී ලංකා ක්රිකට් ක්රීඩකයාට ඇප කොන්දේසි ලිහිල් වේ.
මාස අටකට වැඩි කාලයක් ඕස්ට්රේලියාවේ සිරවී සිටි ප්රමුඛ ශ්රී ලංකා ක්රිකට් ක්රීඩකයෙක් ඔහුගේ ඇප අනුදර්ශන ලිහිල් කිරීමෙන් පසු ගෘහස්ථ සංචාරය සඳහා අවසර ලබා දී ඇත.
පසුගිය වසරේදී විස්සයි විස්ස ලෝක කුසලානයට සහභාගී වූ ඔහු ඕස්ට්රේලියාවෙහි සිටියදී කාන්තාවක් ස්ලොනු නිවසේ කාන්තාවක් දූෂණය කිරීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් චෝදනාවට ලක්ව තිබුණි.
ඔහුගේ කණ්ඩායමේ සාමාජිකයන් සමඟ නැවත ශ්රී ලංකාවට පැමිණී නමුත් ක්රිකට් ක්රීඩකයා පසුගිය වසරේ නොවැම්බර් මාසයේදී අත්අඩංගුවට ගෙන තිබේ. එහි ප්රතිඵලයක් වශයෙන්, ඔහුට රට හැර යාම තහනම් විය.
ඔහුගේ විදේශ ගමන් බලපත්රය යටත් කිරීම හා ජාත්යන්තර පිටත්වීමේ ස්ථානවලට යටත් වීම සහ ජාත්යන්තර පිටත්වීමේ ස්ථානවල ලකුණු 32 ක් වැනි දැඩි කොන්දේසි යටතේ මුලින් ඇප ලබා දී ඇති අතර, ඔහුගේ ඇප අනුදර්ශනවල සංශෝධනයක් ඉල්ලා සිටීම සඳහා ගුණතිලක මහතා අඟහරුවාදා පැමිණියේය. ඔහුගේ ආයාචනය නම්, වත්මන් මාසය තුළ අවස්ථා දෙකකදී ඔහුට ඕස්ට්රේලියාව තුළ ගමන් කිරීමට ඉඩ දීමයි.
මේ සතියේ දින හතරක් සහ මාසය අවසානයේ තවත් දින හතරක් සඳහා වූ ජාත්යන්තර පිටත්වීමේ ස්ථාන තාවකාලිකව ඔසවා තැබීමට වැඩබලන විනිසුරු ග්රේට හෙන්සන් ඊට එකඟ වීමට එකඟ විය. විනිසුරුවරයා නියම කළේ ගුණතිලක අවම වශයෙන් පැය 48 කට පෙරව පෙර පැය 48 කට පෙර පොලිසියට දැනුම් දිය යුතු බවයි.
කෙසේ වෙතත්, 32 හැවිරිදි ක්රිකට් ක්රීඩකයාට සතියකට තුන් වතාවක් පොලීසිය සමඟ පොලිසිය සමඟ පරීක්ෂා කිරීම අවශ්ය වන අතර, එක් ජංගම දුරකථනයක් පමණක් සන්තක වීමට ඔහු සීමා වේ. මීට අමතරව, අපේක්ෂිත චෝදනාවරුන් නිසා, ආලය අඩවි හෝ යෙදුම් වෙත ප්රවේශ වීම තහනම්ය.
ගුණතිලක හට සැප්තැම්බර් මාසයේ විනිසුරුවරයා විසින් නඩු විභාගයක් පැවැත්වීමට නියෝග කර ඇත.
Cricket
LPL Sixth Edition to Be Played Across Four Venues from July 10 to August 5
The sixth edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) is set to take place from July 10 to August 5, 2026, promising another exciting season of top-quality Twenty20 cricket. As Sri Lanka’s premier domestic T20 competition with a strong international presence, the tournament continues to attract both local and overseas talent.
This year’s matches will be held across four venues: Sinhalese Sports Club Ground (SSC), R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium (RPICS), Pallekele International Cricket Stadium (PICS), and Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium (RDICS). These iconic grounds are expected to provide a vibrant atmosphere and excellent playing conditions throughout the competition.
The online registration portal for foreign players will officially open on May 4, 2026, allowing international cricketers to sign up and participate in the league. This step ensures the continuation of LPL’s global appeal, as overseas players add competitiveness and diversity to the tournament.
The event will be organized by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), the official owner of the league, in partnership with The IPG Group, which holds the event rights. Their collaboration has been instrumental in maintaining the league’s high standards since its inception.
Launched in 2020, the LPL has rapidly grown in popularity among cricket fans. Mr. Samantha Dodanwela, an Executive Committee Member of SLC, will continue in his role as Tournament Director, ensuring smooth organization and execution.
With thrilling matches and star players expected, LPL 2026 is set to deliver another unforgettable cricketing spectacle.
Cricket
Dambulla Gears Up for Women’s ‘A’ Cricket Action in May 2026
Sri Lanka is set to host an exciting bilateral cricket series as the New Zealand Women’s A Team tours the island in May 2026. The series, featuring both One Day and T20 matches, will see the visitors compete against the Sri Lanka Women’s A Team in what promises to be a competitive showcase of emerging talent.
All matches will be held at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium (RDICS), with play scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. each day. The New Zealand side is expected to arrive in Sri Lanka on 7 May 2026, giving them several days to acclimatize before the series begins.
The tour will consist of three One Day matches followed by three T20 encounters. The One Day fixtures are scheduled for 12th, 15th, and 18th May, while the T20 series will take place on 21st, 23rd, and 25th May.
This series is seen as an important opportunity for both teams to develop their next generation of international players. With a mix of promising players and those on the cusp of senior national selection, the matches are expected to be closely contested.
Cricket
Bangladesh beat Chamari-less Sri Lanka despite late drama
Bangladesh Women edged out Sri Lanka Women in a tense finish during the first ODI of the Sri Lanka Women’s tour of Bangladesh 2026, chasing down 206 with just nine balls to spare in a match that swung dramatically in the final overs.
Put into bat, Sri Lanka Team posted a competitive 205/9 from their 50 overs, built on steady contributions rather than a single dominant innings. Imesha Dulani (52 off 77) and Hansima Karunaratne (54 off 71) anchored the innings with a crucial middle-order stand after early setbacks. Captain Hasini Perera made a brisk 27, but Sri Lanka struggled to accelerate in the final 10 overs, losing wickets at regular intervals.
Bangladesh’s bowling attack kept things tight throughout. Ritu Moni was the standout performer, claiming 3 for 36 and breaking key partnerships, while Nahida Akter and Marufa Akter maintained pressure with disciplined spells.
In reply, Bangladesh got off to a disastrous start, losing two wickets within the first two overs. However, Sharmin Akhter produced a match-defining innings, scoring a composed 86 off 127 balls to anchor the chase. She found support from Sobhana Mostary, who made 41 before retiring hurt, and later Shorna Akter, whose 35 added momentum in the middle overs.
Despite being in control for much of the chase, Bangladesh nearly stumbled at the finish. A late burst from Sri Lanka’s bowlers saw Dewmi Vihanga pick up three crucial wickets, triggering a collapse that left Bangladesh at 200/7 after being comfortably placed at 199/3.
The match briefly tilted back in Sri Lanka’s favor, but Bangladesh held their nerve. Extras proved decisive, with 21 wides significantly easing the chase. Eventually, Bangladesh crossed the target in 48.3 overs, sealing a hard-fought three-wicket victory.
Sri Lanka will rue their inability to capitalize on key moments, particularly in the death overs with both bat and ball. The absence of star player Chamari Athapaththu was evident, as they lacked the firepower to push their total beyond reach.
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