Sri Lankan cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka was cleared of sexual assault inSydney on Thursday, saying outside the court that he “can’t wait” to playagain.
The 32-year-old batsman was arrested link inNovember last year just hours after his country lost to England in theirfinal Twenty20 World Cup match in Australia.
He was initially accused of four counts of sexual intercourse withoutconsent after arranging to meet a woman at a bar near the Sydney OperaHouse through a dating app.
Three of those charges were dropped link inMay.
On the remaining count, Judge Sarah Huggett found him not guilty, accordingto a document provided by the New South Wales District Court in Sydney.
“The last 11 months have been really hard for me,” Gunathilaka toldreporters outside the court.
“Everyone believed me, so that means a lot to me,” he said.
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“I am happy that my life is normal again so I can’t wait to go back andplay cricket,” he added.
Prosecutors had argued he removed a condom during sex without telling thewoman, who had only agreed to protected sex, according to a report byAustralian public broadcaster *ABC*.
But the judge said the woman did not have a clear memory of what happenedat the time, it said.
Gunathilaka made his international debut in 2015 and has played eightTests, 47 ODIs and 46 T20s. Sri Lanka Cricket suspended him after he wascharged. -APP/AFP
