Elijah Otieno is a medium-pacer who represented the Kenyan Under-19 squad before joining the senior side. He played for Kenya Select in the 2006/07 Logan Cup. A proper tailender, he once made five ducks in 7 first-class innings. However, his bowling skill earned him a call-up for Kenya in the inaugural T20 World Championship. However, he did not play any games in that tournament.

Otieno made his ODI debut against Canada in 2007. He played only one game in the three-match ODI series as he had to attend his high-school exams. He was later selected in Kenya's squad for their two Intercontinental Cup matches against Namibia and UAE in early 2008, making his tournament debut in the match against UAE.

Otieno made his T20I debut in 2012 against Ireland. He remained wicket-less in that game. In his third T20I game, he picked up 3 wickets giving away only 18 runs and was instrumental in their win against Canada. His best ODI performance has also come against the same team. During the World Cricket League Championship, 2011-2013/14 in a match against Canada in March 2013, he picked up 4/33 restricting the opposition to a low total. He also won the Man of the Match award for that game.