‘Jana tha Sydney Airport, chale gaye Sydney Police Station’- Twitter reacts as Sri Lanka cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka is suspended following rape charges
In what has come out as a shock to all, Sri Lanka cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka has been charged with sexual assault in the early hours of Sunday. The Sri Lanka batting all-rounder was later arrested by the Sydney Police and taken to the police station.
Given the severity of the charges, a local court denied bail after hearing both sides’ pleas. Following the strong allegations, Sri Lanka Cricket has now suspended the player from playing any form of cricket from now.
In a strongly worded press release, Sri Lanka cricket said, “The Executive Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket decided to suspend national player Danushka Gunathilaka from all forms of cricket with immediate effect and will not consider him for any selections after being informed that Mr Gunathilaka was arrested and charged with sexual assault of a woman in Australia.”
“Furthermore, Sri Lanka Cricket will take the necessary steps to promptly carry out an inquiry into the alleged offence, and, upon conclusion of the aforementioned court in Australia, steps will be taken to penalize the said player if found guilty.”
“Sri Lanka Cricket wishes to emphasize that it adopts a “zero tolerance” policy for any such conduct by a player and will provide all the required support to the Australian law enforcement authorities to carry out an impartial inquiry into the incident, “concluded the Press release from Sri Lanka Cricket.
Following the announcement of his suspension, Twitter was abuzz with fans opining on the incident. Most say that the player should be nowhere in cricket in the future since he has tarnished the reputation of the country. Some however also are of the opinion that he should be let to play until the charges are not confirmed.
An increasing number of fans have criticised Sri Lanka cricket for helping Danushka despite the heinous crime. Many have also suggested that the player has a strong connection in Sri Lanka which is why he’s being helped by Sri Lanka cricket against the strong sexual charges by the Australian female.
Sri Lanka team meanwhile have crashed out of the 20-20 World Cup following their defeat against England.
Here’s how Twitter reacted to Danushka Gunathilaka being suspended by Sri Lanka cricket:
I really do believe the *only* reason SLC has suspended Danushka Gunathilaka from any form of cricket is because the news of rape allegations emerged in a country that’s not Sri Lanka, and because of all the negative press SLC has been receiving since the news emerged yesterday. https://t.co/WMMKLPUEIp
— Sarah Kellapatha (@saararrr) November 7, 2022
so so unfortunate ! Danushka Gunathilaka career is finished because of this shameful act . if the allegations are true , surely not worthy of representing his country or his team. https://t.co/v5yVeiG8KT
— Sadaf Sayeed 🇮🇳 (@Sadafsayeed) November 7, 2022
@danushka_70 is my modern favourite Sri Lankan batsman. He is such a good player but wasted himself.#DanushkaGunathilaka
— Criclytics (@Criclytics_1) November 7, 2022
Unless Danushka Gunathilaka lives in a hole where he doesn't receive any news, he should know Australians are ruthless when it comes to policing of their country. It's not a country where you take chances as a foreign national. He has just destroyed his future unnecessarily.
— Tat'uRadebe (@hlubizer) November 7, 2022
Can @OfficialSLC reveal the names of these politicians who have jumped to the protection of Danushka Gunathilaka? #SriLanka https://t.co/ASaEOGHFai
— Marlon Ariyasinghe (@exfrotezter) November 7, 2022
https://twitter.com/iamkapilan/status/1589523524515155968
https://twitter.com/iamkapilan/status/1589524665336463360
@OfficialSLC, now that you have explained as to why Danushka Gunathilaka was allowed to stay on in Australia despite his injury, why not also explain to us as to why a person of such bad behaviour was allowed to be on the national team?#LKA #SriLanka
— Munza Mushtaq (@munza14) November 7, 2022
Danushka Gunathilaka should be permanently banned from playing cricket.🚫#SrilankaCricket #T20WorldCup #Danushagunathilaka pic.twitter.com/rrYibmliTQ
— Lalit Bhandari (@lalitbhandarii) November 7, 2022
Jana tha Sydney Airport, chale gaye Sydney Police station #Danushkagunathilaka #SrilankaCricket #T20WorldCup
— Nikesh Sharma (@nikesh04sharma) November 7, 2022
