Sri Lankan cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka was denied bail at an Australian court on Monday after he was charged with four counts of sexual assault.

Gunathilaka appeared in court in Sydney via video link while he was still in handcuffs. He only spoke to confirm his identity and that he could hear what was going on.

Sri Lanka Cricket said on its own that the batsman had been suspended.

The 31-year-old was arrested on Sunday, just hours after his country lost to England in the final T20 World Cup match. He looked calm as he sat in a detention center in the city, wearing a grey T-shirt and blue jeans.

Gunathilaka’s request for bail was heard in a closed session, without any reporters there. This was because Magistrate Robert Williams agreed with the prosecutor’s request to keep information about the allegations and other parts of the case secret.

The court is going to look at the temporary order to hide evidence on Wednesday, which was opposed by Gunathilaka’s defence and by a media legal representative.

Sri Lanka Cricket said that it had suspended the player “from all forms of the game with immediate effect”.

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

It added that the board “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 couldn’t play in the first round of the T20 World Cup because of an injury to his hamstring, but he stayed with the team in Australia.

He first played for his country in 2015, and he has since played in eight Tests, 47 ODIs, and 46 T20s.

Photo by EPA/JAMES ROSS