Sri Lankan cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka will push New South Wales’ public prosecutor to pay legal costs after being made to wait another two weeks to submit a plea for rape charges.
The 32-year-old is facing four counts of sexual intercourse without consent while in Sydney for the T20 World Cup.
After matching on Tinder, meeting up for a date and heading back to her home in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, the complainant alleges the cricketer refused to wear a condom and choked her three times.
A police fact sheet filed with the court said the woman “was fearing for her life and could not get away from the accused” during the November 2022 incident.
The prosecution successfully applied for the adjournment, which will take the hearing beyond the statutory six-month requirement for charge certification, at Downing Centre Local Court on Thursday.
Appearing at Downing Centre Local Court on Thursday, Gunathilaka’s lawyer urged the court to block an application by the NSW Director of Public Prosecution to adjourn the matter again.
The prosecutor said a number of challenges had led to another adjournment.
“A statement has been obtained from the complainant that would affect how the Crown proceeds – which will delay the proceedings,” the prosecutor said.
“The representative of the Crown has also recently been unwell.”
Prosecutors in NSW have six months to file charges against a person before the matter can be dismissed.
The court heard the recent adjournment application would push the cricketer’s case outside of that time frame.
Gunathilaka’s lawyer said he would apply to have the case dismissed if another adjournment was applied for.
Deputy Chief Magistrate Theo Tsavdaridis said he would grant the most recent application for an adjournment.
“I am of the view that these matters are very serious,” Mr Tsavdaridis said.
“The adjournments date back to November 7, 2022, but they have all seemed necessary.”
Gunathilaka will remain on strict conditional bail before he returns to the same court later this month.
Gunathilaka travelled to Australia with Sri Lanka’s T20 World Cup team last year but only played in their first game before being ruled out of the competition with a hamstring tear.
He was arrested in the early hours of November 6 at Sydney’s Hyatt Regency Hotel, shortly before he was scheduled to board a flight home with the rest of the team after they bowed out of the tournament.
Gunathilaka remains on bail ahead of a committal hearing at Downing Centre in Sydney on May 18. (AAP / NCA)