Sri Lanka Cricket said yesterday it had suspended national player Danushka Gunathilaka after he was charged with four counts of sexual assault in Australia. It said the 31-year-old batsman, who was in Australia for the T20 World Cup, had been suspended “from all forms of the game with immediate effect”.

Gunathilaka was denied bail by a court in Sydney on Monday after being charged with sexual assault while he was in Australia to play in the T20 World Cup.

The Executive Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket decided to suspend 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.

Sri Lanka Cricket said it would take the necessary steps to promptly carry out an inquiry into the alleged offence, and,upon the conclusion of the aforementioned court case in Australia, steps would be taken to penalize the said player, if found guilty.

Sri Lanka Cricket has said it wishes to emphasise 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.

Gunathilaka attended court via a video link. The bail hearing took place at the Downing Centre court in Sydney.

Foreign media report said that Defence attorney Ananda Amaranath had not immediately responded to a request for comment.