Fearing that they could be branded a bunch of hypocrites, Sri Lanka Cricket has decided to completely clear Dhanushka Gunathilaka of all his past misdeeds and allow the batsman to present himself for selection to the Sri Lanka team.
Follwing his exoneration by a court in Sydney, Australia, after a woman accused him of rape, Gunathilaka returned to Sri Lanka last week and pleaded that he wanted to turn a new leaf and restore his cricket career after a near year in limbo.
“I want to get back to practices and be part of the Sri Lanka team. But I have to wait and see what kind of conditions will be imposed on me. I dont; know what these conditions are going to be,” Gunathilaka told reporters on his return after controversial Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe remarked in public the south paw batter will have to abide by “certain conditions” if he is to get back to the team.
But Sri Lanka Cricket, which is under public fire over financial misdeeds and corruption, said Gunathilaka was free to train and compete for a place in the Sri Lanka team which is currently being humiliated in India with a third sucessove defeat at the World Cup.
“Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) wishes to announce that the Independent Inquiry Committee appointed by SLC which was tasked with investigating into the impact of the criminal allegations against Mr. Dhanushka Gunathilaka in Australia, has recommnded a full lifting on the ban imposed on him in November 2022 following Mr. Gunathilaka’s acquittal from all charges filed in the district court of New South Wales,” SLC said in a media statement.
The statement further said that SLC’s inquiry panel had “unanimously recommended the immediate lifting of his cricketing ban allowing him to resume regular cricket activities and return to national duty”.
Gunathilaka has represented Sri Lanka is 101 international matches that includes eight Tests, 47 ODI games and 46 T20 matches before he ended up in court to answer charges related to raping a woman in Sydney during the T20 World Cup in Australia last October.
