Danushka Gunathilaka, a Sri Lankan cricketer, is on trial for rape after an incident allegedly took place while he was in Australia for last year's Twenty20 World Cup.

Sri Lankan batsman Danushka Gunathilaka has been arrested after a woman filed a rape claim against him during the last edition of the T20 World Cup in Australia. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) immediately suspended the cricketer and the 32-year-old has been stuck in Australia ever since. Three of the four charges against him have recently been dropped, but he has not yet been acquitted.

Gunathilaka pleaded not guilty to the remaining charge of having sex without consent in a local court in Sydney on Thursday, the Australian Associated Press (AAP) reported.

Gunathilaka is currently trying to facilitate his release on bail, so he reports to the police three times instead of daily. Meanwhile, his lawyer Alen Sahinovic is pleading for a reduced sentence, especially since he has no criminal record.

Notably, the cricketer is now allowed to use the WhatsApp messaging service and go out at night. He had previously been banned from doing so when he was first released on bail in November 2022.

At the beginning of his playing career, the all-rounder represented Sri Lanka in 101 international matches and scored 2641 runs. He also has 15 international wickets to his credit and was an important part of the Lanka team until his suspension.

Notably, the southpaw made his Test debut against India in 2017, two years after his international debut. He only played two games in the T20 World Cup and scored just 17 runs before police arrested him in the middle of the main tournament. SLC has offered him significant assistance, including paying part of his legal costs.