Canada's hopes for the World Cup Qualifier in South Africa in April have been boosted by the availability of the big-hitting Rizwan Cheema thanks to a special visa being obtained by Cricket Canada.

Cheema currently has refugee status in Canada and hence does not have a Canadian passport, though he is eligible through the ICC's residential criteria.

A special visa was required to enable him to travel out of the country, and lobbying by Cricket Canada has seen the visa being granted, thanks to Canadian immigration minister Jason Kenney and Calgary Northeast MP Devinder Shory.

In a statement on the Cricket Canada website, Cricket Canada president Ben Sennik said "He (Rizwan) is a dynamic player who can make an impact on any game with both the bat and the ball. He is proven at the highest level and a burgeoning star around the world... As soon as Minister Kenney learned about this matter, he immediately acted to grant a special ministerial visa. We are very appreciative of the sympathetic support of the Minister of Immigration and look forward to seeing Rizwan in action in South Africa".

Cheema burst onto the cricket scene last year when he made his debut in the Scotiabank tri-series against Bermuda and the West Indies. In three matches, his only ODIs to date, he scored 184 runs at an average of 61.33 with a strike rate of 133.33. He was unsurprisingly named player of the tournament.

In the Canadian Twenty20 quadrangular later in the year, he played his first four Twenty20 Internationals, scoring 127 runs at an average of 31.75 and a strike rate of 120.95, the highlight being the 68 from 43 balls he made against Sri Lanka.

He is also a more than useful medium pace bowler, and took 3/31 against the West Indies in the Scotiabank tri-series.

He will be joined in the Canadian squad by John Davison, making a big-hitting combination that is sure to give bowlers nightmares in the lead-up to the big event in April. Canada start their campaign on April 1 against Oman, and will also play Uganda, Namibia, Ireland and Scotland.