In conjunction with the soil stiffness and strength parameters, the slenderness ratio of the pile plays a key role in controlling the lateral load capacity and influences the load-deformation profile (p-y curve) along the pile length. In the present study, a 3D finite element-based numerical framework has been developed in ABAQUS for the estimation of load carrying capacity of single pile embedded in homogeneous soil layer and subjected to lateral displacement. For this purpose, a Mohr–Coulomb type constitutive model has been employed to represent the granular soil; whereas, the pile has been modeled by an elastic element. Based on a rigorous mesh convergence study, the optimal mesh configuration has been identified for the FE model and the model predictions have been verified against a case study problem reported in the literature. The developed model has further been used to assess the influence of pile slenderness (L/D) ratio on the lateral load carrying capacity and deformation profile of the pile by varying the length of the pile. The estimated lateral load carrying capacities have been compared against the codal provisions given in IS 2911 Part 1/Sec 4 (2010). The load-deformation profile (p-y curve) along the pile length has also been investigated for two different L/D ratios corresponding to the cases of short and long piles. It has been identified from the analysis that the lateral load carrying capacity of the pile increases with increased pile length up to L/D = 25, and beyond that it nearly remains unaltered. Further, the estimated lateral load capacity of the pile from FEM simulation has been found to be considerably lower than that calculated from the codal provision.