Danushka Gunathilaka, the Sri Lankan batter, who was charged with a sexual assault case in Australia, was cleared of all charges on Thursday.

The 32-year-old batsman was arrested in November last year just hours after his country lost to England in their final T20 World Cup match in Australia. He was initially accused of four counts of sexual intercourse without consent after arranging to meet a woman at a bar near the Sydney Opera House through a dating app. Three of those charges were dropped in May.

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On the one remaining count, Judge Sarah Huggett found him not guilty, according to a document provided by the New South Wales District Court in Sydney.

"The last 11 months have been really hard for me. Everyone believed me, so that means a lot to me. I am happy that my life is normal again so I can't wait to go back and play cricket,” Gunathilaka told reporters outside the court.

The prosecutors argued that he removed the protection he was wearing during copulation without telling the woman, who had only agreed and consented to protected sex, according to a report by Australian public broadcaster ABC.

But the judge said the woman did not have a clear memory of what happened at the time, it said.

Gunathilaka has played eight Tests, 47 ODIs, and 46 T20s after making his Sri Lanka debut in 2015.

(AFP inputs)