Dhanraj Pillay is an Indian field hockey player and former captain of the Indian hockey team. He is currently the manager of the Indian hockey team. Also he is a member of the ad hoc committee of Indian Hockey Federation, formed after the suspension of Kanwar Pal Singh Gill. He was born on the 16th of July 1968 at Khadki, a small town near Pune, Maharashtra. His father used to serve at the Ordinance Factory and little Dhanraj began playing Hockey along with his friends with the broken Hockey sticks and ragged balls. Dhanraj received his education at Sugra Vilasi Sabha School, Khadki. His debut match was in the Allwyn Asia Cup Hockey Tournament in 1989. His international debut was on 20th December 1989 against China. He played at many international matches that include Beijing Asian Games 1990, World Cup Hockey Tournament 1994, Barcelona Olympic Games 1992, 4 Olympic Games of 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004 and World Cup Tournaments of 1990, 1994, 1998 and 2002.

He also took part in the Champions Trophies of 1995, 1996, 2002 and 2003 and Asian Games of 1990, 1994, 1998 and 2002. He served as the captain of the team that won the 1998 Asian Games and 2003 Asia Cup. He emerged as the highest goal scorer in the Bangkok Asian Games. He has also played for Indian Gymkhana of London, HC Lyon of France, HTC Stuttgart Kickers of Germany and Abhahani Limited of Dhaka. He received Padma Shri award from Government of India in 2000 and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in 1999-2000. He took part in the World Eleven in the 1994 World Cup. He is noted for his superfast performance that he could cover 100m in just 11.6 seconds. He was given the Player of the Tournament award in the Champions Trophy tournament 2002 at Cologne in Germany.