[12][13][14] His performance in the tournament was also praised by veteran Pakistani allrounder and Galle Gladiators captain Shahid Afridi who called Gunathilaka as potentially the next Kumar Sangakkara of Sri Lanka.
[15] His bizarre runout after colliding with Suranga Lakmal in the 2020 LPL final against Jaffna Stallions drew social media attention and sympathy towards him.
[20] He was selected for home ODI series against West Indies in 2015 after a string of impressive performances with the Sri Lankan A side in the tour of New Zealand in the same year scoring two fifties in four innings.
[3] After Kusal Perera dropped from the 2015–16 New Zealand tour due to a drug scandal, Gunathilaka was included in the ODI squad for the opening position with Tillakaratne Dilshan.
[36] He was ruled out from the Sri Lankan side prior to the start of the 2018 Asia Cup due to suffering an injury in the training session and was replaced by Shehan Jayasuriya.
[41][42] On 10 March 2021, in the first match against the West Indies, Gunathilaka became the first cricketer for Sri Lanka to be given out obstructing the field in ODIs.
[48] Due to a hamstring injury, Gunathilaka was forced to withdraw from the 2022 T20 World Cup in the opening round.
According to the NSW police, on the evening of 2 November, Gunathilaka allegedly assaulted the woman at her home after she met him at a bar.
[57] Gunathilaka was initially refused bail as it was thought he posed a flight risk, and was held in custody at Parklea Correctional Centre for 11 days.
On 17 November he was granted bail of $A150,000 subject to a number of conditions: reporting to police daily, a curfew from 9 pm to 6 am, not contacting the complainant and a ban on accessing dating applications.
[60] In Downing Centre Local Court, a magistrate adjourned the matter until 23 February 2023, so a police brief of evidence could be finalised.
[67] On 5 October 2017, Gunathilaka was suspended for six limited over international matches and also omitted from the Sri Lanka ODI squad for Pakistan in the UAE.
[68] However, the suspension was reduced to three matches on 17 October 2017 after a meeting of Sri Lanka Cricket's executive committee in Colombo.
[71] In January 2018, ICC officially reprimanded Gunathilaka for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct when he gave send off to Bangladeshi batsman Tamim Iqbal when he was dismissed during the final of the ODI Tri Nation Series between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
[74][76][77] The Sri Lankan Police later revealed that Gunathilaka was innocent and cleared him from allegations of rape and sexual assault.
[80][81] On 28 April 2021, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) censured Gunathilaka for his indecent behaviour regarding reports claiming that he had a brawl with a few others during an event at a hotel in Matara, with a three-member inquiry panel finding his conduct unprofessional and lacking integrity.
[82][83] SLC in a media release said, "…based on the findings and recommendations made by the panel, the Management Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket warned the player not to engage in any conduct which violates the standards of honesty, morality, fair play, and sportsmanship which result in bringing disrepute to Sri Lanka Cricket.
"The committee also directed Gunathilaka to attend mandatory counselling sessions conducted by a doctor nominated by Sri Lanka Cricket for a 1 year period," the statement also read.
[86] All three players were seen in the city centre of Durham,[87] with SLC sending them all back home ahead of the ODI matches.